


Magical Mix Up

by DarkShade



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Doctor Who (2005), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Human!Gideon, Humor, Mistaken Identity, RipFic, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28191963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShade/pseuds/DarkShade
Summary: When Constantine uses a spell to locate Rip, it leads them to a hospital and a nurse called Rory Williams. Taking him back to the Waverider they try to get him to remember who he really is.While Rory's wife Amy is searching for him with the Doctor, they come across an unconscious man in a long brown duster.
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Gideon & Rip Hunter, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe minor
Comments: 35
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ams75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ams75/gifts).



> I had a small idea and shared it with the Discord Ripchat group, which sent it from a small possible one-shot to a larger story.  
> This is a birthday present for ams75.  
> Happy Birthday, I hope you enjoy.

“I have one more patient for you, Rory,” Davy on the desk said, handing him a chart, “Some kind of burn.”

Rory Williams took the chart and scanned it quickly, “Okay. What’s open?”

“Curtain three,” Davy replied giving him a smile.

Nodding to the other man, Rory headed out to the waiting room which wasn’t too bad for a Sunday afternoon in the middle of the summer.

“Mr Constantine,” Rory called. His patient stood and Rory frowned in surprise to see the man wearing a trench coat, white shirt and a red tie, his dyed blond hair was a mess, and he had the look that he had just rolled out of bed, “Please come with me.”

As a blonde woman stood to join them, Rory shook his head, “Sorry, you’ll have to wait here for the moment.”

Rory’s patient turned to the blonde woman, had a quick, annoyed whispered discussion before she sat down and he turned to Rory with a charming smile, “Lead on, mate.”

Walking the man through the security doors, Rory motioned him to take a seat on the bed and pulled up the stool.

“Okay,” Rory told him, “Looking over your information it says that you burned your arm. I’ll do an exam to check the area, and if required I will get one of the doctors to take over, or I will clean it up.”

Constantine shrugged, “Really sorry about this, mate but I lied a little bit.”

Confused Rory heard a strange noise behind him, turning he saw the blonde woman from the waiting room walking through a portal to what looked like a ship or space station. Spinning off his stool, Rory grabbed a scalpel out the kit to defend himself.

“I know you’re confused, Rip,” the blonde woman said, “But we’re your friends and we’re taking you home.”

Gripping the scalpel and letting the Centurion in his head free, Rory replied, “No idea who you are and I’m going nowhere.”

Constantine shrugged, “Sorry, mate,” he pulled a strange looking silver device from his pocket and a flash of light filled Rory’s vision before everything went black.

Sara Lance sighed as she watched Rip fall to the ground, “That could have gone better.”

John frowned at her while crouching down to relieve the unconscious man of the scalpel before pulling him off the ground and onto his back in a fireman’s lift, “You’re not kidding.”

“Let’s get back to the ship before anyone comes looking for him,” Sara motioned John back onto the Waverider.

Carrying the unconscious form of his amnesiac friend, John was relieved when they entered the ship and Sara closed the portal. Resting Rip on the medical couch Sara slid the cuff onto his arm and checked the readouts. They now had to wait until he woke up to see if he remembered anything now that he was onboard the ship once more.

“Well?” John asked.

“As far as I can tell he’s healthy,” Sara noted before frowning at him, “It would be easier with Gideon.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” John defended himself, “I had no idea that the idol would react with the spell in that way.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “Now we have no AI because she’s suddenly human, unconscious and in Star Labs.”

John frowned, “From everything the doc told us, she’ll be fine and she’s sleeping just now. It’s probably a lot to assimilate going from an AI to human. If we give her time, I’m sure she’ll wake up soon just like Dr Snow told us.”

“Until then we can’t really go anywhere,” Sara sighed. She looked down at the man on the bed before her, “He looks different.”

John shrugged, “Well you said this is a camouflage. He’s bound to look different.”

“I mean the last time I saw him without the beard he looked odd, but it seems to suit him now,” Sara mused, shaking herself she turned back to John, “Do you have any ideas how to return his memories to him? Because I only know of one way and, without Gideon, it’s not possible.”

John mused, “There are a few spells and rituals I can try but since this was caused by the time drive and not a spell or curse then it becomes tricky.”

“Well, the last time this happened ‘Phil’ was writing about us,” Sara said, “So it was slightly easier for him to accept his movie was basically real. But this time he’s a nurse? It’s the last thing I expected.”

John shook his head sadly, “Rip is a lot more compassionate than you give him credit for, Sara. He just knows how to hide it because he was raised to believe it was a bad thing.”

She pinned him with a sharp look, “I didn’t know you two were such good friends.”

“Spend some time almost getting eaten alive by a demon,” John noted with a shrug, “You tend to bond.”

Sara checked the screen again, “Let’s leave him to rest. I’ve set the alarm to let us know when he wakes up and put up a forcefield so he can’t leave this room. We don’t want him getting anywhere near the time drive.”

John nodded, “You can say that again.”

Ray, Jax and Zari looked up when Sara and John entered the bridge, Mick was lounging in a chair with a beer in his hand, but the tilt of his head let Sara know he was paying attention. Ava was sitting stiffly on the chair in the parlour, with Nate not far from her both looking annoyed as they had been voted down when Constantine said he could possibly locate Rip.

“How is he?” Ray demanded instantly.

Sara gave a slight wince, “He has no memory of us.”

“So, he’s Phil again?” Jax asked.

Sara stole one of Mick’s beers and took a seat on the stairs, “No.”

“Then who does he think he is?” Ray and Jax demanded in unison.

“Rory Williams,” John spoke up, “A nurse working in London.”

Mick let out a snort of amusement while Jax said, “At least he’s still English this time.”

“Once he wakes up John is going to try to retrieve his memories,” Sara told them, “But as with Phil, we just have to remind him we’re his friends, that his memories are fake, and he belongs here.”

A snort from Nate made Sara turn to him and Ava, “Neither you nor Ava need talk to him at all but if you do remember at the moment, he isn’t Rip.”

Ava shrugged, “We’ll try.”

Rory’s head was killing him. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he slowly opened his eyes before slamming them shut when the light jabbed through them like a knife. Trying to get his bearings, Rory wondered what happened because he was sure he had been at the hospital. If the Doctor had kidnapped him from work, he was going to kill the Time Lord.

“Amy?” he murmured, letting her know he was awake because he knew she would be at his side if he was hurt or sick. Especially if the Doctor had picked them up. He was confused and saddened when his wife wasn’t there sliding her fingers through his hair and telling him to stop being lazy.

Finally, he forced his eyes open and frowned as he looked around a medical bay, realising he was on a ship, a space station or just a good bit in the future. Suddenly Rory remembered the last patient he had.

“Son of a…” he breathed, looking around properly.

He was still in his scrubs which meant whatever they’d done to him had been while at work.

“You’re awake,” a voice came from behind him making Rory turn to find a blonde woman walk in. She was a good bit smaller than him, but Rory could see from her bare arms she was extremely fit, and from her stance, the Centurion part of his brain noted she was a warrior.

“Who are you?” Rory demanded, “Where am I? And what do you want?”

She stepped forward trying to look unthreatening, “My name is Sara Lance and, I know how confusing this will be for you, but I promise it’s the truth.”

Rory folded his arms waiting for the explanation.

“Your name is Rip Hunter,” Sara told him, “You were stopping a Time Demon and used the core of this ship. It sent you through time and changed your memories as a camouflage. I understand you think you’re someone else but you’re not. We’re your friends and we’re going to help you recall who you really are.”

Staring at her, Rory finally managed to say sharply, “I know exactly who I am, Miss Lance. And I’m going home.”

“There,” she smiled, “That was the real you for a moment. Hold onto that and we’ll get you back.”

Shaking his head in bemusement, Rory stared at her, “What is wrong with you?”

“I know this is strange,” Sara said, “But this is for your own good. I made a promise to a friend of ours that if I found you then I wouldn’t let you leave again.”

Rory remained silent trying to work out his next move but began to pace so he could get closer to the door, hopefully without her realising.

“Your room is still here,” Sara said, moving so she was the same distance from him as he walked, “It was locked until recently so all your things are there for you to go through, which will hopefully help you remember who you are.”

Rory reached the door and shook his head, “No, thanks.” Hitting the button to open the door he ran into the corridor and chose a direction at random. Running through the corridor he saw a tall man with dark hair coming towards him.

“Rip?” the man grinned at him, “It’s so good to see you.”

Letting the Centurion take control, Rory ducked and caught the man in his stomach throwing the man over his shoulder and onto the floor. The man let out a loud oomph as he hit the ground, and although the nurse part of his mind wanted to check the other man was alright, thankfully the Centurion part was in control. Turning a corner Rory stalled finding the man, John, who had been his supposed patient standing there.

“I know you’re confused, mate,” John said, “But this is your home, Rip.”

“What is wrong with you people,” Rory snapped, “Why can’t any of you listen to what I’m saying. I am not this Rip guy. My name is Rory Williams, I have never met any of you before today and no matter what you say or do, I’m not going to remember a life that wasn’t mine.”

Just as he finished talking, something thudded across the back of his head and Rory dropped to the ground unconscious again.

“Did you have to hit him?” the annoyed voice of Sara came as Rory swam towards consciousness with yet another headache.

A man grunted, “Seemed quickest way to stop him after what he did to haircut.”

Rory heard Sara let out a sigh before she said, “Let’s not give him any more brain damage, Mick.”

“Whatever,” the man grumbled.

Forcing his eyes open Rory realised he was not in the medical bay this time but, from the looks of things, a cell. Slowing sitting up he found Sara standing on the other side of the glass with concern on her face.

“Are you okay?”

Rory glared at her, “Well I’ve been abducted by a bunch of lunatics who keep knocking me out, while trying to convince me I’m someone I’m not. How do you think I am?”

She gave a slight smile, “There are some painkillers and water just down in the corner, and something to eat if you’re hungry.”

“Or you can let me go and I’ll get something at home,” Rory shot back at her while he found the painkillers.

Sara winced, “I know this seems harsh, Rip but it’s for your own protection. The last time this happened I let Thawne and his Legion of Doom take you, and I can’t let that happen again.”

Rory sat on the bench again, “So your logic for keeping me captive is so someone else doesn’t? That makes complete sense.”

“I left you some books and a few of your diaries to read through,” Sara told him, “We’ll talk a little later once you’ve had some time.”

Rory watched her leave and sighed. He listened to the Doctor every day, but this was true nonsense. Finding the small stack of books, Rory lifted the top one opening to the first page finding it was handwritten and realised this was the diary of the man they thought he was. A part of him wanted to read it a little but he didn’t want to invade the person they thought he was privacy. Closing it and putting it carefully to one side, Rory checked what else was sitting there and found Treasure Island, one of his favourites.

Putting the blanket and pillows they’d given him on the floor to sit on, Rory started to read.

John sat watching the security feed of the cells as Sara spoke with Rip, or Rory as he was calling himself these days. It was odd watching his friend like this, he truly believed he was this Rory Williams and there wasn’t even a hint of recognition of any of them.

If they had Gideon, it was possible she would be able to get through to him, but currently Gideon wasn’t an option.

“Well?” Sara appeared at his side.

“He looked at the diary then put it down,” John told her, “I don’t think he’s going to read it. We need to try something else.”

Sara frowned, “What about your spell?”

“I need some supplies,” John said, “I’ll go pick them up in the morning,” adding before she could argue, “A night-time trip isn’t a good idea.”

Dropping into the seat beside him, Sara stared at the man on the screen, “Rip was always close to Jax, and Ray gets along with basically everyone. Maybe I should get one of them to try get through to him.”

John shrugged, “Why not? Or you could try your girlfriend.”

Sara frowned at him, before ignoring the jibe, “I’ll ask Ray to try first. Jax still has some issues from evil Rip.”

*********************************************

Rory drank the tea he’d been given with his breakfast as he continued to read the book. He’d been fed and managed to get some sleep but was still in a cell. Rory wondered what Amy thought happened to him and hoped that the Doctor would be able to track him down somehow. He smiled slightly imagining Amy walking in, with River at her side, taking out anyone between her and him.

The door to the room outside the glass opening interrupted Rory in the middle of a chapter. He let out an annoyed sigh, marking his place with the handy bookmark that was already inside the novel, placing it to one side before looking up at whoever had come in to annoy him some more.

“You’re the one I hit yesterday,” Rory noted seeing the tall man with perfect coiffed dark hair, looking like he stepped off the page of a magazine, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

The other man gave a shrug, “I’m okay. I’m Ray,” he introduced himself, “And you’re using the name Rory just now, right?”

“I’m not using it,” Rory replied sharply, “It’s my name.”

Ray winced for a moment before he pulled a chair over and sat, “It’s not. Your name is Rip Hunter, although that’s not the name you had as a kid. You were originally called Michael but in order to become a Time Master, you had to change it, so you chose Rip.” He paused, for a moment before explaining, “Time Masters were at one point the supposed guardians of time. They raised you and until a few years ago you worked for them.”

Rory rolled his eyes but held his tongue for the moment knowing the more information he had the better.

“You saved a lot of lives making and stopping alterations to the timeline,” Ray continued, “Then your wife Miranda and son Jonas were killed by a man called Vandal Savage who it turned out was working with the Time Masters. You recruited us to stop them, which we managed to do, and we protect the timeline now.”

“My wife’s name is Amy,” Rory said softly, “And my daughter is called Melody. Both are perfectly fine. I have never heard of Time Masters and I have no idea who any of you are.”

Ray sighed annoyed but Rory was beginning to go over and over the idea of Time Masters. If these people had access to time travel, that would allow Rory a possible way to contact the Doctor.

“Rip,” Ray sighed, “I know things were bad between us all for a while, but you sacrificed yourself for us. The fact you survived is incredible and I can understand why you want to hide in this life you created for yourself after everything but it’s time to come home.”

Rory shook his head, “It’s a nice sentiment but no matter what you say, I am not and have never been Rip Hunter.”

Ray grimaced before he stood, for a moment Rory thought he was about to say something else before he simply walked out.

“We can’t keep him locked in the cell,” Zari said as the team gathered in the library, “It’s not fair.”

“Don’t see why not,” Nate muttered.

“Because he isn’t a danger to us,” Zari reminded him sharply.

Ava frowned, “Tell that to Ray.”

“I’m fine,” Ray spoke up, “But he’s insistent he’s not Rip, and I think he’ll try to get off the ship any way he can.”

Sara sighed softly, “John is getting supplies to try the spell for returning Rip’s memories, until then he stays in the cell. I don’t like it either,” she stopped Zari arguing, “But it’s for his own protection and our safety. Rip, no matter what memories he holds, is still very smart and he could cause problems for us.”

“How long till John does the spell?” Jax asked.

Sara shrugged, “He said he had to collect some ingredients. I’m hoping he’ll be back soon.”

“What about Gideon?” Ray changed the subject, “Have we heard from Star Labs?”

With a smile, Sara replied, “Barry called earlier. Gideon is not only awake but is in good health and Dr Snow is just keeping her under observation for a few days.”

“That’s good,” Jax sighed in relief.

“For now,” Sara said, “We’re stuck here in Star City. So, you may as well visit family and friends or pick up some supplies you want. I will stay on the ship and keep an eye on Rip.”

“Are you sure?” Ava asked, “One of…”

“I’m sure,” Sara cut her off, “He’s my responsibility.”

Rory looked round when the door opened again, wondering who was coming to persuade him he was someone else this time. A different blonde woman walked in, taller than Sara, and looked at him with distaste.

“I don’t know what your game is this time, Rip,” she said sharply, “But I know you’re making sure they let their guard down before you do whatever you’re planning.”

Rory stared at her for a minute before laughing, “You are crazier than the rest of them.”

“After what you did to me,” she snarled, “I know how untrustworthy you are.”

Letting out a sigh, Rory stood and moved to face her, “Look, whoever you are.”

“You know who I am,” she snapped.

“Whoever you are,” Rory repeated, “Your people abducted me. You all keep telling me I’m someone I’m not while holding me prisoner. Whatever issues you have with that guy, I know nothing about them and have nothing to do with them. Though I can offer the number of a good therapist for you to talk through whatever you need to.”

Anger flashing in her eyes, the woman leaned in and she stated darkly, “Even when you ‘get your memories back’” she put in the air quotes, “I will make sure you stay in this cell.”

With that said she turned, her hair flipping over her shoulder as she marched out. Just before the door closed, he clearly heard Sara’s voice demanding, “Ava, what are you doing?”

Sighing Rory sat and picked up his book again, he’d been here a day and as they’d used some kind of portal technology then Rory was sure the Doctor would be able to find him.

At least that was what he was telling himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Amy Williams nee Pond checked the clock wondering where her husband was. They were meant to be going out for dinner tonight with friends and he’d promised he would get away on time.

It was the one thing that she hated about Rory, the fact that even after finishing a shift he would jump in to help without thought and end up leaving several hours after he was meant to. And it was also one of the things she loved about him.

Grabbing her phone she quickly called him, frowning when it rang until going through to his voicemail. Frustrated, Amy opened her contacts and looked for the reception desk at the hospital.

“Hi, Davy,” she said once he’d gone through his spiel, “It’s Amy Williams. Has Rory left yet?”

“Let me check…” Davy murmured, the sound of papers being moved around, and a few shouts came through the phone before he came back on, “From what I can see he must have left about an hour ago. He had one last patient, but it’s odd there’s no paperwork returned. I’m sure the room has been used by other people since then. Can you hold and I’ll have another look?”

“Of course,” Amy replied, trying not to get worried. Rory was popular at the hospital and if someone needed help then they would have called him. And of course, her Rory would help without thought.

“Amy,” Davy came back on, “No one has seen him since his last patient. And the chart was found under the bed.”

Concerned Amy clenched her fist to keep herself calm, “Thanks, Davy. Let me know if he turns up.”

“I will,” Davy said before they hung up.

Amy paced the room taking several deep breaths before she tried to ring Rory again. And again, and again, and again. Each time it rang several times then went to his voicemail.

“Rory,” she snapped on the last call, “If you’re just not answering then I am going to silent treatment you from here till the end of the universe.”

Frustrated, Amy put the phone on the table and sat waiting for it to ring. Hoping that he was on his way home and just left his phone at the hospital.

Two hours later, Amy was getting even more worried than before and had called Rory at least a dozen more times.

Grabbing the phone again this time she dialled a different number and forced herself to remain calm as she waited for the phone to be answered.

“Amy,” the Doctor’s voice came, “How wonderful you called. I was just thinking about Ponds.”

“Doctor,” she felt relieved to hear his voice and asked, “You haven’t picked up Rory, have you?”

A confused silence came from the other side of the call before the Doctor said, “No. Why?”

“He hasn’t come home from work,” Amy explained, “And he isn’t answering his phone. I’m…I’m just worried because he never does anything like this.”

“I’m on my way,” the Doctor told her.

The line went dead before the familiar comforting sound of the TARDIS filled the room, the moment it settled the Doctor opened the door and Amy threw herself into his arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Amy whispered, “I know I’m probably overreacting, but Rory promised he’d be home on time tonight and if he didn’t manage to keep that promise, he’d have called me. Or even answered my call.”

The Doctor hugged her, “I know. Come on, I’ll get the TARDIS to look for him.”

Relief filled her and Amy grabbed her phone before following her best friend inside. She watched the Doctor bounce around the console and soon the engines started.

“Hmm,” the Doctor stared at the screen, “Interesting.”

Amy grimaced, “What do you mean, interesting?”

“Huh?” the Doctor turned to her as though he’d forgotten she was there, “Sorry, Amelia. There are traces of energy that suggests someone was travelling through time in the hospital. Like they’ve used a vortex manipulator.”

“So, it could have been River?” she asked softly.

The Doctor frowned, “I doubt it. Your daughter wouldn’t take Rory without either of them letting you know. Besides there is something different about the energy signature. I’m going to try to follow it.”

Amy nodded, “Do it.”

The Doctor bounced around hitting a few controls, pulling some of the levers before hitting the main one and Amy gripped the console tightly. The TARDIS wheezed and the Doctor frowned.

“What?” Amy asked.

“Just where the trail has gone,” the Doctor said, “It’s like it was flung across the universe.”

Amy pushed her hand through her hair, “Can you find where it went?”

The Doctor caught her arms, “Pond, I am going to find him. I promise you.”

She nodded and held on as he started the TARDIS following the trail once more.

The TARDIS landed and Amy restrained herself from rushing out the doors instantly, she wanted to find Rory but putting herself in danger was not a good idea. Not until they’d checked where they were.

“It looks cold out there,” the Doctor told her, “Get a coat and then we’ll head outside to search for him.”

Amy nodded and ran up to the room she shared with her husband within the TARDIS, grabbing the warmest coat she could find in the wardrobe. Rushing back to the console room, Amy found the Doctor making a few adjustments to one of his strange devices.

“Is he here?” she asked softly.

The Doctor looked up at her, “I think so, this will help us find him. Come on.”

Following her best friend out the TARDIS, Amy winced as the ice-cold wind battered at her. The Doctor strange device began to make a beeping noise, “This way, Pond,” he called over the noise.

Walking forward Amy heard the beeping get faster and as they walked towards an expanse of rocks, she spotted a leg.

“Rory!!!” she cried, running forward Amy stalled as she saw him. Rory lay unconscious on the ground, but he didn’t look like the man who had kissed her goodbye that morning before heading off to work. His hair was longer, he had a beard while he was dressed in dark trousers, a white shirt, a dark jacket under a long brown coat.

The Doctor scanned Rory, “Let’s get him back to the TARDIS.”

Between them they managed to carry the unconscious man back to the TARDIS, then up to the infirmary, settling Rory onto the bed.

“How long has he been alone?” Amy whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

The Doctor hugged her quickly, “We can ask him what happened when he wakes up. All that matters now is that he’s back with us.”

He pressed a kiss to her hair before starting the scanner to check how injured Rory was. Amy moved to the cupboard and pulled out a blanket.

“He’s cold,” she whispered, covering Rory with the blanket and tucking it around him. She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, “I’m here and you’re safe. Come back to me.”

*********************************************

It was now a full day since they’d found Rory. Amy had sat by his side for several hours before the Doctor made her move to eat, then she returned to his side. The Doctor moved her to sleep for a while, then Amy returned to Rory’s side.

The Doctor had dragged her to the kitchen once more to get something to eat and drink. Amy sat mechanically drinking her tea wishing Rory would wake up and tell them what happened to him.

“Time travel without a capsule,” the Doctor reminded her, “Is hard on the body. Rory’s body is just getting the rest it needs.”

“That doesn’t explain why he doesn’t look like himself,” Amy reminded him, “He looks…different. Not just the beard and hair but…I don’t know…it doesn’t feel like him.”

The Doctor hugged her again, “Remember Rory has memories from the years he lived watching over the Pandorica,” he said softly, “You know that if he’s been in a situation that requires him to then he will access those memories. He will let the Centurion loose.”

Amy closed her eyes, she hated when Rory accessed the Centurion because he became cold and hard, unlike her Rory. Even worse she knew it was because of her that he had this darker side now.

A beeping made them both freeze for a moment before jumping up and running up to the infirmary where Rory was waking up finally.

Amy reached his side first and gently took his hand, “I’m right here,” she whispered, “You’re safe and you’re with us.”

Rory moaned softly, his hand squeezing hers before he murmured, “Gideon?”

Confused Amy let go of his hand and turned to the Doctor her eyes wide with shock.

“What?” the Doctor asked.

“That’s not Rory.”

The Doctor turned to the man who was slowly coming around, “Are you sure?”

“I know my husband,” Amy stated, “And that is not him.”

“Where am I?” Rory’s doppelganger asked, his hand pressed to his temple.

The Doctor rested his hand on Amy’s shoulder for a moment before stepping forward, “Hello, I’m the Doctor. This is Amy. You’re safe. Can you tell me your name?”

The man looked at them both, hesitation filling his eyes before he sighed, “Are you part of the Time Bureau?”

The Doctor swapped looks with Amy before asking, “The what?”

“Okay,” he shook his head before introducing himself, “Rip Hunter. Where am I?”

The Doctor hesitated, “That’s a little complicated.”

“Well, what else is new.”

Rip followed his hosts out of the hospital room he was in and along a corridor, finding himself in what looked like the kitchen of his mother’s house. The woman, Amy, kept looking at him like he was a ghost while there was something about the Doctor that was niggling at the back of his mind, but his slightly frazzled brain just couldn’t work out what.

Amy made them all tea, setting it beside Rip she gave him a slight amused smile, “If he offers to make it for you, say no and make your own.”

“My tea making skills are exceptional,” the Doctor frowned at her.

“Except you usually get distracted and it ends up like tar,” Amy retorted.

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue, before sighing and taking a drink of his tea.

“Am I getting any answers?” Rip asked after a few moments of silence, “Or are you just going to tell me complicated again?”

“We found you while searching for Amy’s husband, Rory,” the Doctor explained, “We originally thought you were him.”

Confused Rip asked, “Why?”

Pulling out her phone, Amy touched the screen a few times before turning it to Rip who stared in astonishment at his doppelganger on the screen.

“Spatial genetic multiplicity,” the Doctor noted, “It happens on occasion.”

“What year is this?” Rip asked softly.

The Doctor grimaced, “This one is not important, but Rory and Amy are from 2015?”

Amy rolled her eyes at her friend, “That’s about right. It’s in the ballpark at least.”

“Then I suppose it is possible we are distantly related,” Rip noted before shaking himself, “That doesn’t explain how you found me. Or was that just luck?”

“We were tracking a trail of time energy in the last place Rory was seen,” the Doctor explained, “It was faint and then I found the trail that brought me to you.”

Rip mused on this for a few moments before asking, “Can I see the trail?”

Surprised the Doctor nodded, bouncing up he opened a panel revealing a screen and tapped a few instructions into the system.

“Here is the original one,” the Doctor noted, “And that is the one I followed which led to you.”

Rip frowned, “Oh dear. I know who has your friend. And why you thought my trail was his.”

“Which is?” Amy demanded sharply.

Rubbing his eyes Rip sat down again, “In order to stop an event which would cause harm to the fabric of the world, the people I was working with, along with myself, crossed our own time stream which caused some issues. One being the release of a time demon.”

“Which one?” the Doctor asked as Amy stared at them both confused.

“Mallus.”

The Doctor wrinkled his nose, “Oh him.”

“When he was released fully, in order to give the team time to regroup after their initial attempt to stop him failed,” Rip sighed, “I took the time core of my ship and used it against him. Which is my last memory before I woke here. From the information you showed me, the same matrix energy was used to open the portal you were originally following. Which means it’s from my ship.”

Amy frowned as she realised what he was saying but the Doctor was ahead of her.

“You’re saying your friends took Rory.”

“Why?” Amy asked.

Rip winced, “Previously I had to escape the ship after it had been hit by a nuclear weapon with an artifact. My only choice was to touch the time drive in order to move myself through time.”

“Temporal electrocution?” the Doctor cried, “That is extreme.”

“My only choice,” Rip replied softly, “But what it did, as well as send me to a random time was alter my memories placing a false identity as a camouflage. My theory is that the team believe Rory is what they called a ‘Phil situation’.”

Amy shook her head, “So they think Rory is you, and no matter what he says they’ll think it’s the camouflage personality?”

Rip nodded, “It’s only a theory but it makes a lot of sense to me.”

The Doctor started to laugh, “Sorry, Amelia,” he said at her frown, “But it is very Rory.”

“I suppose so,” she sighed before turning to Rip, “Does this mean you know where he is?”

Rip grimaced, “Normally I would say yes but the fact they obviously still think he is me means something has happened to Gideon.”

“Gideon?” Amy asked.

“My…” he sighed, “Gideon is the AI for the Waverider, my ship. She would know instantly that they have the wrong man. So, either they don’t believe her, or something is wrong with her.”

“What do we do?” Amy snapped frustration filling her voice.

Rip mused for a moment, “If you have the equipment, I should be able to pull together a tracking device for the ship.”

The Doctor grinned, “You only had to ask.”

“Amy,” Rip gently touched her arm, “I will find your husband for you. I promise.”


	3. Chapter 3

Gideon sat in the small lounge within Star Labs, the smoothie Dr Snow had made to ensure she was getting the required nutrients for her new form sitting on the table by her side. Waking up in Star Labs, it had been good to have Mr Ramon and Mr Allen by her side. They were, in a way, her fathers so she was comforted by their presence. Only her Captain would have been more welcome at her side, but he was gone, and Gideon had not been able to find any trace of him. No matter how hard she tried.

“Hey,” Cisco appeared, carrying two plates, “I brought some cake. Caitlin said you’re allowed a slice as long as you finish the sludge you’re drinking.”

With a slight smile, Gideon said, “Thank you.”

He placed one of the plates at her side before taking a seat across from her, “How are you doing?”

Shrugging Gideon replied, “I feel a little odd. It is strange having a body when I am so used to controlling the Waverider. I miss her but for the moment being away is better while I get used to my new form.”

“That makes sense,” Cisco said, breaking off a bit of cake and eating it, “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want to.”

Gideon sighed, “Thank you. I should however ask about the Legends and where they are.”

“They’re still in Star City,” Cisco told her, “Without you they can’t go anywhere except by those watch things.”

“The Time Couriers,” Gideon corrected, “They are practical. However, it is not a good idea to have the Waverider sitting around for too long.”

Cisco nodded, “What do you suggest?”

“I believe with your assistance I can provide the Waverider with a new AI that will allow them to travel through time without me,” Gideon said.

“Something temporary until you’re ready to go back?” Cisco asked.

Gideon didn’t reply instead said, “The information from the time vault will be helpful and I would suggest having the Time Sphere brought here just in case.”

“In case what?”

“Having met the Legends,” Gideon noted, “You should be aware that things do not always go as they are supposed to.”

Cisco chuckled, “Finish your cake then we’ll get to work but,” he held up his finger, “If you feel tired or need to rest, tell me instantly.”

“Of course, Mr Ramon.”

*********************************************

John checked his list making sure he had all the ingredients required to do the spell to return Rip’s memories.

Although they argued constantly whenever they met up, John and Rip were actually very close friends. A friendship forged over many misadventures where they’d gotten in and out of a lot of trouble. He’d met Rip’s family and had been known as Uncle John by Jonas. It was an honour that he’d never expected, and he’d loved that little boy like his own.

Then Rip had appeared at the Mill House one day, looking like death warmed up, barely managing to say the words that Miranda and Jonas were dead before losing it.

John did the only thing he could which was listen to Rip talk, telling all he’d done trying to save the people that Rip lived for. He woke the next morning to find Rip was gone, along with a good bit of his whiskey and didn’t hear from Rip for several years. Until a phone call where Rip told him about Mallus, the danger to the universe and then asked him to work with the Legends.

It was strange seeing Rip with this new personality, Rory, but John could understand where it came from and why it was a comforting thing for him to be helping people in this new guise. His friend had seen so much death and had felt so much grief, he deserved something good in his life, but John also knew that Rip would never want to forget Miranda and Jonas.

Assured he had everything required, John packed the supplies in the rucksack, along with the books he needed. He couldn’t use the Time Courier too close to the Mill House, the one time he had he’d ended up far from where he intended to be and had to call Gideon to rescue him when the thing fritzed out on him. Which she was exceedingly smug about.

“John,” Sara called seeing him walk up the ramp, “Did you get everything you need?”

Nodding he patted the bag, “All right here. Any progress?”

Sara shook her head, “He’s just ignoring me now and reading. On the plus side, Cisco sent some instructions to get us up and running without Gideon. Jax and Zari are going to work on that this afternoon, hopefully we’ll be back in business by tonight.”

“Good to know,” John replied, “Any word on how Gideon is?”

Sara shook her head, “Cisco just said she’s resting when I asked but that she did give some input into the new AI.”

“That’s something at least,” John mused.

Shrugging Sara asked, “I will be in the parlour if you need me. Let me know the moment it’s done.”

“You’ll probably hear him swearing at me to let him out,” John chuckled before he started towards the brig.

Stepping through the doors, John saw Rip glance up from his book briefly before ignoring him.

“You don’t have to talk to me,” John said as he started pulling out the things for the spell, “It’s not unusual. We did three days in a cave once, and I think we exchanged all of six words with one another. Most of those was swearing by both of us.”

Rip continued to ignore John, and the only movement was him turning the page until John was about to start his spell.

“What are you doing?” Rip demanded sharply.

“I know you’ve never really been one who likes magic over tech,” John placated him, “However this is the safest way we can get your memories back since Gideon can’t help at the moment.” 

Rip moved suddenly so they were face to face, “Listen to me. I am not the person you think I am but if you are trying to release hidden memories then I am warning you not to. I have things in my memory that are buried for a reason.”

John frowned, the conviction in the other man’s voice chilling him. Touching the communicator panel on the wall, John called up to the parlour.

“It’s just the camouflage talking,” Sara replied, when he explained what the man in the cell had told him, “Ignore whatever he says to stop you, bring his memories back.”

John grimaced when Sara closed the link, turning back to the man in the cell he shrugged.

“I know some of what you’ll remember is horrible,” John said softly, “But you’ll have the good memories back too. And I know you’d never want to forget those.”

Rip stared at him, “I’m begging you. Don’t do this.”

Turning away John began his spell.

Rory was beginning to panic slightly. If Constantine could release the block that held back the two thousand years, then that would release the darker side of Rory that he kept securely tucked away. The side that he had learned to control because of the walls erected and strengthened by the TARDIS. Rory had never been fully human with these memories and worried what he would do if he remembered them all. Assuming they didn’t send him insane first.

The Doctor always said that there was power in words, especially if the person saying those words believed. And the man standing outside the glass believed.

Fire burned from Constantine’s hands before bright light filled the room, making Rory turn away and close his eyes. As the light faded Rory felt faint for a few moments but thankfully it only lasted a few seconds.

“Rip?”

At the call from outside the glass Rory looked up at the other man with a dark glare, “No.”

“Bollocks.”

*********************************************

Jax scanned the information Cisco had sent them before looking up at Sara and nodded, “It makes sense.”

“Good,” Sara smiled, “If you can get us fixed then we’ll be able to get back to work.” She turned as the door to the bridge opened and John stalked on, “From the look on your face, I’m guessing it didn’t work.”

John shook his head, “But as I said, I have a few ideas. The next one should release Rip’s memories, but I can’t do anything for a few hours. Give the original spell some time to dissipate.”

Sara nodded, “Okay. I should get him something to eat and see if maybe your spell loosened something.”

Grimacing John replied, “Good luck with that. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

While John walked away, Sara checked to see Jax and Zari were working on the information Cisco had sent them. She shook her head amused as she listened to them ‘discuss’ what they were doing and some things Jax didn’t agree with instructions that Cisco had given them.

Heading to the dining room, Sara fabricated a meal for Rip with a cup of tea, it was surprising that he hadn’t complained about, he never fabricated tea always making it fresh. Reaching the brig, Sara frowned to see Rip was sitting with his head in his hands.

“Rip?” she called worriedly.

An annoyed sigh came from the man before he stated sharply, “I have told you multiple times that is not my name.”

Taken back by the snarl in his voice, Sara slid the tray through the small slot, “I brought you some lunch.”

She jumped when he snatched it from the floor and hurled it at the glass where she stood.

“Let me out,” he glared at her.

Sara watched his chest heave with deep breaths, his eyes dark with rage.

“I know this is difficult,” she said calmly, “But it’s to make sure you’re safe until we get you back.”

Dragging a hand through his hair, Rip forced out, “Whatever you’re planning to do I am telling you don’t. My memories have not been altered but there are things in my head that cannot be released. You don’t know what’s in here.”

“I know you don’t remember,” Sara replied softly, “But I have my own demons that I’ve managed to suppress.”

Rip shook his head, “You don’t understand. I’m asking you to listen to me. I am not Rip Hunter, I am Rory Williams and if you try to release my memories…” he sighed, “You will regret it.”

“I know you’re scared,” Sara told him kindly, “But trust me, once you’re you again everything will be fine.”

Leaving him once more, Sara winced as she heard a thud of one of the books being thrown at her, bouncing off the glass.

Rory dropped onto the bench, pushing his hands through his hair trying to get his mind to settle after whatever Constantine had done. The wall holding back his memories from the Centurion were weaker than they’d been in a long time, which meant his temper was shorter than it had ever been. 

“Slow breaths, Rory,” he remembered the Doctor’s voice after the first time the memories took control, “Whenever you feel the Centurion’s darker impulses coming forward, you need to slow your breathing and find a mantra. Something to focus on that will keep them down.”

“Amy, Melody, Home,” Rory said slowly before repeating, “Amy, Melody, Home. Amy, Melody, Home.”

He continued his mantra over and over, managing to force the wall in place again. Feeling the rage settle back for the moment, Rory was relieved it was holding but knew that if Constantine managed to knock them down again with his ‘magic’ then Rory might not be able to rebuild them.

As much as he wanted out of here, he didn’t want to hurt anyone.

But Rory knew he would.

*********************************************

“I’m telling you that this is a waste of time,” Jax was gesturing to Zari when Sara stepped into the engine room, “I know the ship. He doesn’t.”

“But Cisco has an AI in the time vault,” Zari reminded him.

“And I’ve been working on Gideon for years,” Jax shot back at him, “I know how to do these connections.”

Zari shrugged, “If you’re sure then we’ll do it that way.”

“Everything okay?” Sara asked now they’d finished arguing.

Zari gave her a grin, “We’re almost finished. Cisco’s instructions are good, but we know the ship better than he does so some are a bit pointless.”

Chuckling Sara asked, “Does that mean we’re almost ready for a test?”

Jax appeared from beneath the section he had been working on, “Yep, we’re ready. Zari, you go with Sara and monitor the output from the bridge. The new AI should appear on the central console. Sara, if you take the pilot’s seat and keep an eye on the engine output.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded.

With Zari at her side, Sara headed up to the bridge and slid into the Captain’s chair while Zari took up position at the console where Gideon’s hologram used to hover. 

“We’re ready,” Zari called down to Jax.

“Okay,” Jax’s voice came over the comms, “Let’s do this. Initiating the programme, Zari tell me how it’s going.”

Sara glanced back at the woman standing staring intently at the screen.

“Everything is loading up,” Zari said, “It’s initiating just as predicted.”

“Great,” Jax said, “I’ll…”

“Wait,” Zari cried, “Something is wrong. Sara?”

Sara turned back to the screen in front of her and her eyes widened in horror, “The engines are firing. Jax, shut it down.”

“I can’t,” Jax called back, “It’s…”

His voice cut off as the ship tilted to one side and suddenly shot into the air, Zari let out a cry grabbing onto the console as Sara managed to pull the restraint over her while trying to control the Waverider but there was nothing she could do. 

Panic filled her as they were shot into the time stream being tossed around for several minutes before being thrown out again. Sara tried to stop their uncontrolled descent but had no control over the ship at all.

“Everyone hold on,” she screamed over the ship’s comm system, “We’re going to crash!!!”


	4. Chapter 4

Rip turned when Amy arrived at his side with a mug of tea. He took it with a slight smile before placing it on the table beside the courier he was building. It was not easy doing it from memory with his currently fuzzy brain, but he was getting there. Once he finished it then the next part would be to tune it to the frequency of the Waverider’s engines and time travel matrix, which would be the really tricky part. However, the Doctor seemed convinced he could help with that. Rip had to admit that this was an interesting ship, there seemed to be no obvious pattern to the layout, and the tech was beyond his own. He would love to spend some time investigating it.

“How are you doing?” Amy asked softly when she placed a plate with some chocolate biscuits next to him.

Rip looked up at her and could see the worry in her eyes for her husband, “Hopefully I should be finished soon. Normally I could make this quicker but after my last trip through the vortex I’m a little slower than I usually am.”

Amy laughed, “You seem to be doing alright.”

Sighing Rip shrugged, “This is familiar to me. Making things and fixing things always helped me relax when I was stressed.”

“So, you make a lot of things that let you travel in time?” Amy asked amused.

Rip laughed softly, “Actually, yes.” He could see she wanted to ask and decided to help ease her mind, “I was raised by an organisation called the Time Masters who trained me to guard the timeline. My ship, the Waverider, is more than likely where your husband is being held. I know that ship better than anyone because I basically rebuilt it. Multiple times in fact.”

“Is Rory safe there?”

Rip nodded, “He will be. If they think he’s me with missing memories then they’ll be trying to get him to remember,” he gave an amused smile, “If a friend of mine is still with the team then I’m hoping he’ll work out Rory isn’t me. If he doesn’t, I will never let him forget.”

Amy smiled at him, and squeezed his hand, “We’ll get you home too.”

“Thank you, Amy.”

Amy left her husband’s double to work while she went to check in with the Doctor. Spending time with Rip, she could see the differences that only someone who knew one of them well would and hoped one of the people who had grabbed Rory was able to see them too.

“Doctor,” she called, finding him with his head buried in the chest he kept in the console room, “What are you looking for?”

He looked up, dazed slightly at the movement, before replying, “Rip needs some elion crystals for his version of the vortex manipulator. I know I have a few but can’t quite find the bag.”

The end of his sentence was slightly muffled as he stuck his head in the box once more. Amy winced as she heard things clattering and smashing before the Doctor emerged with a small black velvet pouch in his hand. 

“Found them,” he cried, bouncing to his feet, “Come on, Pond. Let’s pass these to our guest.”

Amy followed him, finally asking, “Doctor?”

“Yes?”

“Surely you know how to make one of these,” Amy noted, “So, why let him do it?”

The Doctor stalled and turned to her, “Because this is his technology, I don’t have the precise knowledge he does, and it won’t be as accurate for tracking the ship. Besides he obviously needs something to do, and I don’t want him messing with the TARDIS.”

He started walking again, stalling once more when Amy asked, “So are Time Masters and Time Lords related somehow?”

Turning to her, he demanded, “Time Masters?”

“That’s who Rip said raised him,” Amy explained, confused as the Doctor slammed his hand to his cheek with wide-eyed astonishment.

“Of course, he’s _that_ Rip Hunter,” the Doctor shook his head before starting to walk again, “Well that explains the knowledge of time travel devices.”

“You know a lot of people called Rip Hunter?” Amy sighed, even more confused. 

Amy managed to catch up just before the Doctor entered the small room Rip was using.

“Here,” the Doctor place the pouch beside the other man, “Elion crystals.”

Rip nodded and gently slid several out onto the table, quickly finding one that fit his requirements. Amy and the Doctor watched him place it in the casing before finishing the final few connections and snapping it shut, “Done.”

“Excellent,” the Doctor said, “Let’s get to the control room and we can use that, along with the trail we followed to find Rory.”

Rip was relieved he managed to create the new courier so quickly. And he was right, sitting here working on it made him relax so his mind felt clearer. Following the Doctor and Amy through the corridors of the ship, he tried to work out what kind of vessel it was. There were no windows showing space or the time stream, not to mention there was no flow to the corridors. Stepping into the control room, Rip knew the Doctor’s technology was leagues ahead of the Waverider.

“Okay,” the Doctor brought up several schematics, “This is the original energy trace we detected in the hospital where Rory works,” he pointed to the top line, “And this is the one that found you,” he pointed to the bottom line.

Rip nodded and checking the information began to calibrate the courier, happy that it only took a few minutes before he found it.

“Got it,” he smiled at the nervously bouncing Amy.

The Doctor pulled out a long wire and offered it to him, “Plug it in and we’ll follow the trail to give us a destination.”

Rip followed the instruction then moved to join the Doctor and Amy at the other screen. Hope filled him when they got a lock and the screen lit up showing a pathway through the timestream to…

“Ancient Rome,” the Doctor said, “Oh that is unfortunate.”

Confused, Rip asked, “Why?”

“Because Rory and Rome,” Amy sighed, “Are not a good combination.”

*********************************************

Rory groaned as he managed to pull himself up out of the awkward angle he’d been thrown into. Thankfully he had no broken bones, and nothing seemed to be bleeding. Looking around he saw that the door to his cell was now open. Rory eased his way out of the room watching for any of the people who had put him in there.

He could hear shouts from nearby, from the small snatches he could hear it sounded as though someone was trapped. Part of Rory wanted to go help but he knew that if he did then he would end up back in the cell once more. The nurse part of him was shoved to the back as the Centurion took control and heading away from the group, he was relieved to find an exit to the ship which was half open. Climbing onto the crates sitting in the room, Rory managed to squeeze out of the door and quickly looked around. There were some rocks not far from where he was, and he ran towards them quickly. Reaching a safe haven, for now, Rory turned and stared in amazement at the ship in front of him. Blinking as it suddenly disappeared, Rory realised they must have fixed a few things and would soon be looking for him.

Luckily just beyond the rocks where he was hiding were several trees that he could use as cover to find himself a safe space. Moving quickly Rory reached the trees and hugged the tree line to give him as much protection as possible. Reaching the edge, he walked a few feet beyond finding he was on a hill and looking down relief filled him. 

The Centurion was home.

Sara sighed in relief when they managed to release Jax from the engine room finding he wasn’t injured and Zari called down to let them know she’d managed to fix the shielding so the ship wouldn’t be visible, wherever they were.

“Is everyone okay?” John asked.

“Zari was a little banged up,” Sara told him, “But I’m okay, Jax?”

Jax nodded, “I’ve been better but I’m fine. You?”

“Yeah,” John shrugged, before asking, “What about Rip?”

Sara’s eyes widened and she darted off to the cells without replying, hearing the two men following her. Reaching the open door, she skidded to a halt finding an empty cell.

“That’s not good,” Jax grimaced.

Taking a slow breath Sara turned to them, “John, you come with me and we’ll look for him, he can’t have got far. Jax, you and Zari fix the ship. Focus on making sure we can secure Rip once we find him again.”

Jax nodded and Sara grimaced, this was the last thing they needed with the ship out of order but turning to John she said, “Let’s go.”

*********************************************

“Bollocks.”

Cisco turned in surprise to where Gideon was sitting at the unexpected swearing coming from the former AI.

“What?” he asked.

Gideon let out an annoyed sigh, “The Legends obviously did not follow my instructions implicitly and skipped a few steps. Therefore, the engines fired and threw them through the time stream.”

Cisco grimaced, “That is bad.”

“Extremely,” she frowned, “This means my ship has crashed in the past, very possibly contaminating the timeline.”

“Can you track it?” Cisco moved to her side.

Gideon smiled at him smugly, “Of course I can, Mr Ramon. I ensured one of the steps they would not skip implanted a trail for the time sphere to follow.”

“So, where are they?” Cisco asked.

“Rome,” Gideon brought up the details, “Neither of our outfits are suitable for the time-period. We need attire that will not draw attention and possibly some weapons that we can conceal but access easily. Just in case.”

Cisco frowned, “Not sure where we can get that. We don’t have a fabricator or a seamstress on call.”

“A costume shop will suffice,” Gideon noted, “And I can make adjustments.”

“Okay,” Cisco said, “Let’s get things together, so we can go find them. I should probably call Barry.”

Gideon shook her head, “There is only room for two of us in the time-sphere and I may need your expertise to get the Waverider fixed.”

“Okay,” Cisco nodded, before murmuring softly, “This is going to be fun.”

Gideon finished inputting the co-ordinates for the Waverider while Cisco pulled together outfits and supplies that they required. Sitting alone in the time travel device her dear Captain had created as they sat watching an empty part of space waiting for time pirates that were possibly going to arrive sometime within the next month. He was bored, driving her crazy with his continual tinkering and finally suggested he perhaps work on some theories of what Time Masters could use in addition to their ships.

He’d designed the sphere and the time courier over those few weeks. It made her smile to think of him. Rip Hunter had been a handful and it was almost impossible at times to keep him in one piece, but she missed him deeply.

It hurt more in this form, an emptiness that she knew would never be filled but Gideon would keep his memory alive in her and continue to protect the timeline as he would want.

Closing her eyes, Gideon thought of the kiss they’d shared and wondered how different it would be in this form. Shaking herself, she focussed once more on ensuring the time-sphere was ready for their journey. She had no time to be sentimental, no time to wish things had been different and no time to imagine the impossible.

The Legends, the team her Captain had asked her to watch over, needed help and that was what she would focus on.

No matter how much she wanted to dwell on other things.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With thanks to the incredible Drogna for being my historical guide for all things Roman.

Rome.

Rory had never been here, not in this life anyway, but the memories he held from his time being made of plastic meant he felt that he was home. 

Unfortunately, he was still in his scrubs which meant he would stick out like a sore thumb, so he needed new clothes. And probably a sword.

It occurred to him as he scanned the area that there was a time when he would never have thought about needing a weapon of any kind, never mind knowing he could use it. He spotted a guard station and studied the soldiers. They were about to go out on patrol, which left a small group in the station which would allow Rory to, hopefully, steal what he needed.

He watched the soldiers as they began to march, waiting until he was sure they were far enough away. From his angle he could see the few left and decided which one to incapacitate. The nurse side of him hated the thought, but right now that part of him was pushed to the back of his mind. The situation, as well as whatever Constantine had done to him, meant Rory’s darker side was at the forefront.

Looking down at himself, Rory found some mud and quickly dirtied his scrubs to hopefully hide them to a degree before he moved carefully from the trees to the guard station. As one of the soldiers passed him, Rory pounced, wrapping his arm around the man’s neck, and held on until the man lost consciousness. Dragging him back where he couldn’t be seen Rory quickly swapped their clothes and took the weapons.

“Sorry,” he murmured to the man.

Rory grimaced, feeling uncomfortable in the soldier’s uniform because it wasn’t his own and it was a lower rank, not to mention the sword was not as good as his own. Shaking himself Rory took a deep breath and left his cover making his way to the gate.

There were caravans and people streaming through, meaning Rory could easily walk through in full uniform without anyone raising an eyebrow at his presence. Once inside he decided to head to the marketplace, somewhere crowded was his best bet to remain hidden from the nutcases who couldn’t understand the simple fact he was not the man they thought he was. It was pure luck they had crashed here, although the fact these people had the ability to travel in time worried him from what he’d seen so far.

He hoped there would be some way for him to send a message to the Doctor but at the moment he had no ideas how to do that. Then again, there was a ship outside the city he could use, if he could get onboard without the crew knowing.

That was a problem for later, after he’d found a safe haven that he could use for however long he was stuck here.

Rory walked slowly through the streets, taking in the familiar smells and sounds. He watched the children running around playing their games. Vendors offered their wares in the market while families strolled through, soldiers were not an unusual sight either, so Rory blended in.

He caught sight of a Centurion, and the reckless part of him wanted to steal the uniform to match the rank he was meant to have. Thankfully he still had common sense to know that was a bad idea, although if someone tried to give him an order he might not be as pragmatic about the whole thing. 

As he moved along the streets, he spotted a leather pouch fallen to one side, hidden by crates from one of the stalls. Dropping a small stone that he’d lifted on his way into the city, Rory crouched to pick it up and swiped the pouch. Not long after the wedding, they were on a planet that were celebrating victory in a race of some kind. Amy and the Doctor had found something that the adrenaline junkies in them got overexcited about. Rory opted for the quiet option of sitting in a café watching the celebrations, River had appeared suddenly and spent a day teaching him how to steal. Looking back on it, Rory realised she was trying to spend time with him as a friend so that when he found out the truth, he had some good memories with her.

Now he had some money, Rory decided to get something to eat.

It had already been a long day.

*********************************************

“Alright,” the Doctor said, “I am aiming us for the same time as Rory, but I want to ensure we’re far enough away from the people who took him. I don’t want them seeing or detecting the TARDIS.”

“I can easily check where they are,” Rip noted.

The Doctor frowned in thought, “Not worried they’ve changed the codes?”

Rip chuckled, “They may try but that ship was mine for over fifteen years and know it better than any of them. If Gideon isn’t functioning, which is my worry since she would know Rory isn’t me, then there is a back door I can use.”

“Will that let you know if Rory is alright?” Amy asked softly.

Rip nodded, “And why they’re in Rome. Because there must be a specific reason the team have come here. And if there is an issue with the timeline, we need to make sure we don’t cause any more.”

“Time Masters,” the Doctor chuckled, “They’re always so much fun.”

Amy smiled at the look Rip gave the Doctor, his scathing look that was exactly like Rory’s and she wondered if maybe they were related.

They waited while Rip connected with his ship, and as predicted only a few seconds later he nodded, “I’m in.”

“Show me Rory,” Amy demanded.

Rip frowned, “Oh no,” he brought up the cameras, “It looks as though there is no mission, this was an accident.”

“They crashed here?” Amy asked, seeing the mess of the ship on the screen.

“What the bloody hell have they done to Gideon,” he grimaced, “I can’t find her anywhere.” He paused and rubbed his eyes, “This is not good.”

Amy rested her hand on his arm, “Rip, it’s okay. Take a breath.”

“You don’t understand,” he whispered sadly, “She’s all I have left. I promised her I’d come back.”

Hugging him tightly Amy rubbed his shoulder, “Don’t jump to any conclusions, okay. There could be any number of reasons she’s not answering you. Let’s focus on getting the TARDIS landed and then get you to the ship so you can check yourself.”

Pulling back Rip gave Amy a small smile, “Thank you. Let me check the security cameras and see where Rory is for you.”

The Doctor moved to Amy’s side as they watched Rip scan through the information.

“They locked him up,” Rip snapped annoyed, “I honestly wonder sometimes about their logic. Sara and I will have words on this.”

“Rip,” the Doctor said softly, reminding him they were there.

Shaking his head Rip returned to work, “Here he is. After the crash he slid out the ship and into the trees. The camera loses him quickly. Even in that colour, he’s hard to spot.”

The Doctor watched Amy wrap her arms around herself as both knew that meant the Centurion was in charge. It was, in many ways, a good thing as Rory would know how to blend in within the city and would be able to keep himself safe for them. Although, it would make it harder to locate him.

“Okay,” the Doctor said, “I will set us down between the city and your ship, Rip.”

“We can’t leave the ship looking like this,” Rip noted, “We will be spotted instantly.”

Forcing himself not to smirk too much, the Doctor said, “Amy, take Rip to the wardrobe and give him the uniform.”

Amy stared at him for a moment before leading the other man out of the room.

“A Time Master, that particular Time Master,” the Doctor mused to the TARDIS, “This will be interesting.”

*********************************************

The Time Sphere materialised just under the wing of the Waverider and Gideon smiled to see her ship, a calm settling in her. Sliding out the bubble, Gideon rested her hand on the metal and smiled.

“I’m sorry I was away, dear one,” she said softly, “I was scared you wouldn’t need me anymore now I am like this.”

The whispered reply made Gideon smile.

“I will fix what they broke,” Gideon promised, “And I will not leave you again.”

Turning she found Cisco watching her curiously.

“We should get inside and find the crew,” Gideon told him, smiling as the cargo bay lowered for them, “Thank you, dear one.”

Walking up the ramp, Cisco followed her into the ship. Anger filled her at the mess of the place, and she gently stroked the bulkhead to soothe the Waverider. 

“Where are they?” she asked.

Flickering lights pointed her in the direction of the engine room, and Gideon patted the wall once more letting the Waverider know she didn’t need to expend any more energy. As they walked through the corridors, voices came from close by and Gideon quickened her pace towards them with Cisco following on behind.

“What did you do to my ship?” Gideon demanded sharply the moment she saw Sara and Jax in the engine room.

They turned and stared at her.

“I provided you with explicit instructions on how to fix a temporary AI for the Waverider,” she continued, marching towards them, “And you ignored them.”

Jax stared at her, “Gideon?”

“Gideon?” Sara echoed.

Annoyed she snapped, “Obviously. Now do you want to explain why you skipped several steps in the instructions I gave you?”

“I…well…” Jax stammered as he came face to face with the irate Gideon.

She stared at him, “I’m waiting, Mr Jackson.”

“Gideon,” Sara spoke up, stepping back slightly when Gideon turned and speared her with a sharp glare, “Jax was doing his job.”

“No,” Gideon stated, “Doing his job would mean the ship would not currently be crashed in the past needing substantial repairs.”

“That’s enough, Gideon,” Sara ordered, “Jax is working on fixing the engines. You head up to the bridge and work with Zari.”

Gideon tilted her head amused, “You are under the impression you are in charge, Miss Lance.”

Sara stared at her, “I’m still the Captain, Gideon.”

Gideon laughed softly before stating, “No. I am. The Waverider is mine, and she will follow me. There is only one person we would allow to act as Captain in my stead and that is not you, Miss Lance. Not after this debacle. I suggest you return to the bridge to assist Miss Tomaz with Mr Ramon, who is in charge of the repairs, while I supervise Mr Jackson.”

Sara stared in amazement at Gideon, who turned away to study the engines. Jax motioned her to one side quickly.

“Do we tell her?” Jax asked, “Now she’s in charge.”

Shaking her head, Sara replied, “No. Gideon has just become human, and she’s not in charge, Jax. This is her trying to assert independence since she’s no longer an AI.”

“What do we do?” Jax demanded, glancing over to where Gideon and Cisco were talking.

“We repair the ship,” Sara said, “While we do that, I’m going to send John to find Rip and get him back here. Once he’s here, then she’ll focus on getting his memories back.”

Shaking his head Jax sighed, “I hope you’re right.”

“Me too,” Sara murmured, before she started up to the bridge, Cisco could find her if Gideon wanted him to work with them. 

She found John checking that none of his important and dangerous items had been damaged in the crash.

“I get why she’s pissed,” John noted after Sara told him what was happening, “The Waverider was the only physical form she had until now. And she never liked someone ignoring her instructions.”

“I haven’t told her about Rip,” Sara continued, “But I want you to find him and bring him back.”

John frowned, “Why not tell her?”

“We need her to fix the ship.”

Grimacing John said, “That is…”

“My decision,” Sara replied sharply cutting him off, “Now, find him and get him back here. If you have to knock him out again, do it. But remember you’ll have to carry him.”

“What about the couriers?” John demanded.

“After the crash they’re not working. Jax thinks it’s to do with the energy released by the engines,” Sara told him, “And without Gideon or Ray, resetting them isn’t possible.”

John rolled his eyes, “Bloody typical.”

“Find Rip,” Sara ordered, “And get him back here as fast as possible.”

Leaving him to return to the bridge Sara heard John muttering.

“Join the nutters who time travel, what a bloody good idea.”


	6. Chapter 6

Sitting in the Thermopolium, closest to the gate he’d entered the city through with some mulled wine and a selection of the day’s snacks, Rory watched the people outside in the streets trying to work out his next step. Being here was so relaxing, it was like being home in the strangest way. He kept hoping Amy would appear so he could show her the world he knew.

She’d never been able to understand, although she tried but all the memories in his head of this city and world he had known.

People left him alone, probably assuming he was a soldier returning from war, which suited Rory. He couldn’t work out if he was understanding everyone surrounding him because he’d lived a life amongst them or due to the TARDIS translation circuit. Shaking his head, he decided it didn’t matter, the fact he could understand people was the important thing.

Finishing his lunch, Rory knew he had to change and find somewhere to stay for the night. He was sure the nutcases who had abducted him wouldn’t leave until they’d managed to get him back. Which meant he might get a chance to get onboard and find a way to contact the Doctor.

The longer he sat, the more recognition he felt with this section of the city and he knew where to go for lodgings. Rory decided the soldier uniform was a good idea to hold onto for the moment. Most people wouldn’t pay him any attention dressed like this, which was what Rory wanted.

Realising he had spent a little too much time within the eatery, Rory finished his lunch and left the building into the heat of the day.

He walked slowly through the city, taking in the sights. His memories were stronger now, almost sure that he’d grown up near here. Or the Centurion had been told he had.

Lost in thought he stopped watching some children play, realising suddenly someone was standing beside him.

Turning he stared at the man, his double except he had a beard, wearing a Centurion’s uniform. More to the point, wearing his uniform. And Rory knew it instantly as there was a tiny blue TARDIS sewn into collar of his cloak.

“What the bloody hell?”

*********************************************

“Are you sure I should be wearing this?” Rip asked as he looked at himself in the mirror.

Amy smiled slightly, “It’ll help you blend in, plus Rory will know it’s his so should listen to you if you find him first.”

Rip nodded before turning to Amy, “This is authentic. Or if not, it is the most incredible replica, because this has not been produced by any machine. The stitching is exquisite.”

“It’s a long complicated story,” Amy replied, “When this is over I’ll tell you it.”

Rip chuckled, “We could make a week out of swapping long complicated stories.”

Amy smiled.

Fixing himself so he looked presentable, Rip frowned in thought seeing a small flash of blue just under the collar.

“I put that there,” Amy whispered, “So any time he had to wear this, he always knew I was with him and we’d find one another.”

Rip rested his hand on her arm for a moment before stepping back, “Ready?”

“As always,” Amy grinned, “Come on, I’ll lead you back, so you don’t get lost.”

Walking through the corridors, Rip wished he could work out what was annoying him about the ship but couldn’t. Shaking it away as they reached the control room, the Doctor was waiting for them.

“Alright,” he said the moment they stepped into the room, “Let’s go find our Rory.”

Heading to the door he opened it and walked out, Amy just behind and then Rip stepped out. Turning to close the door, Rip frowned confused when he saw it looked like a wooden box. Stepping back Rip stared in astonishment before he walked around the entirety of the outside before turning to where the Doctor and Amy stood watching him.

“TARDIS,” Rip whispered, remembering the Doctor saying it before managing to breathe, “You’re a Time Lord.”

The Doctor nodded.

Rip shook his head, “It looks like my brain was scrambled a lot more than I thought. I should have picked up on that a lot sooner.”

“We all have bad days, Captain Hunter,” the Doctor noted amused, “Even the legendary Time Master.”

“You know…of course you know,” Rip let out an annoyed bark of laughter, “What else haven’t you told me?”

The Doctor shook his head, “Nothing. I just thought it was best for the moment. Time Lords and Time Masters normally didn’t mix.”

“Because we were told to keep far away,” Rip replied, “And having seen the inside of the TARDIS, I understand why now.” He took a slow deep breath and focussed himself, “Alright, we have time for me to be in awe later. We have Rory to find then my former team to berate for abducting him.”

“We’ve landed just outside the city gates,” the Doctor told them, “Your ship is beyond that hill, Rip and I’ll put the shielding up so look for that pattern on the wall.”

Amy frowned, “Are you sure splitting up is a good idea?”

“I know what I’m doing, Amy,” Rip assured her, “I worked alone for a long time making alterations to the timeline. I know how to move without being seen and I know this period. I’ll be fine, trust me.”

“Be careful,” the Doctor said, “And that includes when you find Rory. He is more dangerous than he seems, especially within this setting.”

Rip nodded before he headed into the city. One of his first training missions had been here but at least a hundred years ago. From what Amy and the Doctor had told him, Rory knew the city and how to act within it.

Checking the time, Rip decided to check the local eateries but before he could start in the right direction the man he was looking for walked in front of him. Dressed as a solider, lower in rank to the uniform Rip was wearing but unmistakably Rory Williams.

Seeing his duplicate in the flesh was a little disconcerting but he followed the other man who stopped suddenly where several children were playing. Watching the sight himself for a moment, Rip forced his memories away to focus on the mission. Rory turned saw him and stared.

“What the bloody hell?”

“Rory,” his double said holding his hands up, “My name is Rip Hunter.”

“You’re Rip Hunter?” Rory demanded, “Okay, I understand why I was mistaken for you,” he shook himself, “How are you here? And why are you wearing my uniform?”

Rip smiled, “Amy and the Doctor brought me. They found me while looking for you and they’re searching the other side of the city.”

“Well, your friends are parked over the hill outside the gates,” Rory told him, “Although they are a bit clingy. I wanted to leave, and they put me in a cell.”

Rip frowned, “Yes, Sara and I will be having words about that. I can only apologise Rory.”

Shaking his head Rory shrugged, “It wasn’t your fault.”

“The TARDIS is outside the city gates,” Rip told him, “I promised Amy I would find you and get you there.”

“And I know what’s she’s like if you break a promise,” Rory smiled slightly, “We should head that way.”

Before they could take two steps, they heard crashing and yells from behind them. The two men watched a familiar man wearing a trench coat being thrown out of a window into the street. They watched as he was surrounded by the guards, tried to get away but was knocked out and dragged away.

“Of course,” Rip sighed, as they stayed out of the way “How hard is keeping a low profile and make sure you blend in?” he turned to Rory, “I know he’s one of the people who kept you in the cell, but he’s also a friend of mine.”

Drawing his sword Rory waited until Rip drew his and swapped them, “Okay. But only because I want to see his face when he realises that I’m not you.”

*********************************************

“Gideon?”

She paused from her work and took a moment before she turned to look at him, “Yes, Mr Jackson.”

Jax stood nervously, looking like the young man who had stepped onto the ship unsure of who he was and what his worth was.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, “I should have followed the instructions you sent.”

Gideon stared at him in silence, before finally asking, “Why did you not?”

He shrugged, “I thought it came from Cisco and he doesn’t know the ship or the AI systems as well as we do.”

“Hmm,” she mused as she took a seat on small ledge near the time core, “Did you know that Cisco Ramon and Barry Allen created the AI program?”

He stared at her confused, “Really?”

Gideon nodded.

“How was I supposed to know that?” Jax demanded, “No one told me. Not you, not Rip.”

“The message sent advised specifically I had given input,” Gideon reminded him, “Surely that would have suggested to you that I had reviewed and agreed to the steps.”

Jax shook his head, “You’d just gone through a huge change, we were told you were resting, and I know the systems.”

“That arrogance, Mr Jackson,” Gideon said sadly, “Has permeated this team lately. The feeling that you can do anything you want because you must be in the right.”

“And you’re telling me Rip wasn’t arrogant?”

Gideon shook her head, “Of course he was but he also understood how time works, how alterations to time works and knew he could only control a tiny part of it. This claim that you break things for the better, he was never that arrogant.”

“Is that why you’re claiming to be the Captain now?” Jax demanded, “Because we chose Sara.”

Gideon looked at him with steel in her eyes, “I didn’t. No one asked me, Mr Jackson but then I didn’t count before now, did I?”

Jax winced.

“The Waverider is mine,” Gideon told him, “And she will accept only my instructions now.”

Jax frowned, “Come on, Gideon.”

“This is my home, Mr Jackson,” she reminded him sharply. “For you all it is a place to come and have an adventure, but this is my home. Do you know what it is like to have your home treated like a hotel by people who have no regard for it?”

“Gideon…”

“You may have no regard for him anymore, but Rip Hunter was my dearest friend,” Gideon continued, “And no one consoled me for that loss. Before I looked like this, I was nothing to you but an information source.” Standing again she turned back to the engines, “Now we have to work to do.”

Jax watched her work for a few minutes before saying, “We found him.”

Slowly Gideon turned and stared at him, “What?”

“We found Rip,” Jax told her, “His memories have been changed again but we found him.”

Gideon dropped her tools and started out of the room, anger in her eyes.

Sara stood watching Cisco and Zari discuss how they were fixing the computer, wondering if John had found their lost soul. She was sure once Rip was back then he’d give Gideon something to focus on and they could get back to normal, or as normal as things got.

“Gideon,” Jax’s voice came from the corridor just before the former AI marched through the door.

“Where is he?” Gideon demanded the moment she was face to face with Sara.

Sara glanced over to Jax who shrugged apologetically, before turning back to Gideon, “Rip escaped, and John is bringing him back.”

“Escaped?” Gideon’s voice remained sharp, “Why was he being held prisoner on his ship?”

“It’s our ship,” Sara stated before continuing, “And it was for his own protection. Rip’s memories were changed again, so we needed to keep him contained until we could get them back.”

Gideon walked away into the parlour, Sara moved closer and listened as Gideon stroked the wall.

“Why did you not tell me?” she whispered before turning and demanding, “Why did you not tell me, Miss Lance?”

“You’d just changed,” Sara told her, “I wanted to find a way to return Rip’s memories before telling you.”

Gideon nodded, “That makes sense. But I do not understand why you did not tell me when I arrived at the ship? As I am now in charge then I should be told everything.”

Sara folded her arms, “Gideon, you may run the ship, but I am still the Captain. I made this decision for my team and to ensure that you were focussed on repairs.”

Everything suddenly shut down, Cisco, Jax, Zari and Sara looked around before turning to Gideon who had taken a seat in the parlour.

“If you want to be in charge, Miss Lance,” Gideon stated, “Have at it. But do not expect help from me.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again a huge thanks goes to Drogna for being my historical guide for all things Roman. I have learned some fun things for this fic.

Amy hated that Rory had been taken from her once more. Sometimes it felt as though the universe did this to them every few years just for laughs.

“We’ll find him, Amelia,” the Doctor wrapped his arm around her, “You two always find one another. Even when he died and was erased from time, Rory came back to you.”

Amy took a deep breath, “I know.”

“Then don’t worry,” the Doctor smiled, “This place especially is somewhere that he knows. Somewhere he can blend into, so we just have to look for any signs he’s left for us. And if we’re in the wrong part of the city, then Rip will find him.”

She sighed looking around what she once would have been excited to see. The Romans had been her favourite subject at school, but while Rory was missing nothing else mattered.

Amy had tried every so often to ask him about the memories he held but Rory didn’t like thinking, never mind talking about them.

They continued through the marketplace, hoping that they’d find him but so far nothing. Amy’s heart leapt every time she saw a flash of red, hoping Rory would appear before her but there was no luck so far.

As they walked on Amy suddenly sighed, “Why haven’t we found anything? Rory would leave us a sign, where is it?”

The Doctor mused before shaking his head, “Of course, we arrived here not long after him. He wouldn’t expect us yet. Rory is probably finding a place to hunker down first.”

“So, what do we do?” Amy demanded.

The Doctor wrapped his arm around her once more, “We keep looking for him. He would have entered through the same gate we did. We’re in the right section of the city and there are only a certain amount of places Rory will be able to go without connections. We’ll find him.”

*********************************************

John winced as he was tossed out the window and slammed into the ground. Scrambling to his feet, he turned to see the multiple guards appear swords drawn.

“Look,” he held out his hands, “Obviously mistakes were made, and I shouldn’t have been in there, even if she did invite me but there’s no need for all this. I was just asking for help to find someone.”

John grimaced as his explanation wasn’t swaying them and they continued to advance. Spinning round to run away, John found there were two guards behind him and groaned as someone hit him across the back of his head. Dropping to the ground, John swam in and out of consciousness as he was grabbed by each arm then dragged through the crowd. His head was buzzing, and John wanted to pull away but couldn’t. John groaned as he was yanked to his feet and came face to face with a large man who listened to one of the guards before nodding. John struggled weakly as he was dragged through the gates and into a room with a hole in the floor covered by a metal grate. The grate was pulled off it and a rope ladder tossed down. 

John was shoved to the hole and pushed down.

“Climb or fall,” the guard told him, “Your choice.”

Against his growing headache, John climbed down the ladder knowing the other way would probably result in worse injury. The moment he touched the dirt covered ground, the ladder was pulled up, leaving him in the cell with circular walls and nothing but a hole in the ceiling.

Waiting until the guards were gone, John gently touched his ear to activate his communicator, but it wasn’t there. Frantically checking his clothes and the floor of the cell, he sighed finding nothing.

“Bollocks.”

*********************************************

Gideon sipped the tea she’d made for herself while the others worked to fix the Waverider. She could hear the annoyed cries as things wouldn’t work, no matter what they did. Jax was currently swearing at the systems as Rip had shown him several tricks that normally got the computer to start, but this time everything refused to work for him.

“Gideon,” Cisco appeared, “Can I talk to you?”

She nodded, “Of course. Take a seat.”

“Okay,” he frowned, dropping into the chair across from her, “I get you’re annoyed at them, especially the fact Sara hid they’d found Rip from you.”

“And kept him imprisoned,” Gideon added sharply.

Cisco nodded, “I get all that but fixing the ship should be a priority?”

She smiled slightly at him, “It is. Mr Ramon, I would never do anything to put the Waverider in danger. The self-repair systems are already working, and the ship shall be repaired within the next six hours.”

Cisco frowned, “Then why are you letting them struggle?”

Amusement covered her face, “Because they believe they do not need me.”

“What about Rip?”

“Sending more people is not a good idea,” Gideon remined him, “Mr Constantine is currently searching for him. Adding the others while the situation is unknown is reckless. Once the systems are running again, I will be able to locate him within seconds.”

Cisco frowned, “You can find Rip that easily?”

“Now we are within the same time, yes,” Gideon told him, “It was a problem when I had to search the entirety of time and space.”

“Then what?” Cisco asked softly.

“Gideon smiled beatifically, “Then I take my ship and if others wish to travel with me, then we shall work out an arrangement.”

Cisco nodded, “Sara is going to love that.”

*********************************************

Rory gripped his sword, feeling the familiar handle bite into his hand. He felt better now, having his own weapon but they couldn’t use them just now and caught Rip’s arm holding him in place.

“Where will they take him?” Rip asked, watching his friend dragged away.

Rory turned asking, “Don’t you know?”

“I learned enough to pass myself off as a soldier within a guard station in order to retrieve a shotgun,” Rip told him, “Not to mention it was one of my very first missions, so I’m a bit rusty on the customs.”

“He’s been taken to the Tullianum,” Rory explained, “It’s a dungeon. Prisoners were left in there until trial, usually without food and water.”

Rip frowned, “How long until he’s put on trial?”

“Depends on who the house belonged to,” Rory mused, “And whose bedchamber he violated. From what I know that house belongs to a very important member of the Senate. Your friends are not the best at keeping a low profile, are they?”

“John tends to not to think at times,” Rip sighed, “Not with his head anyway,” he bent down and picked up a small metallic disc, “And this is his comms link, so he can’t call for help.”

“Let’s face it from what I’ve seen of the others is a blessing for the timeline,” Rory noted.

“How do we get him out?” Rip asked.

Rory frowned as he thought, “Well, that’s the problem. I suggest waiting until tonight, there will be fewer guards for us to get past on the night shift. The sun will be going down in about three hours if I’m right.”

Grimacing Rip said, “Then I suggest we get back to the TARDIS and reunite you with Amy. We can make a plan there.”

Rory nodded, “That is a great idea.”

Motioning towards the city gate, Rip smiled, “This way.”

The blue box Rory expected to see was not there and he frowned turning to Rip.

“There’s a camouflage shielding on,” Rip explained, “The Doctor told me to look for a pattern on the wall,” he stepped forward and studied the area finding finally a few squiggles made by chalk. Turning Rip took a small step forward and banged into the hidden TARDIS.

Rory began to laugh, the lightness made him feel more like Nurse-Rory and less Centurion-Rory.

“I appear to have found it,” Rip winced, rubbing his forehead.

Rory stepped forward, his hand stretched out and gently touched the door feeling the wood beneath his fingertips.

“It’s me,” he whispered, “Can I come in?” There was a pause before the lock clicked, and the door opened for him. Stepping inside, Rory smiled, “Thank you.” 

Rip followed him inside, closing the door and joined Rory at the control console, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Nodding Rory replied, “The Doctor showed me how to send a signal to the sonic once. Just in case. I could, in theory, also take us somewhere.”

“How did you unlock the door,” Rip asked suddenly, “I noticed a lock earlier. And a ship this advanced, the Doctor would not leave it accessible.”

Rory shrugged, “Normally I’d have a key, but the TARDIS likes me. Don’t ask me why but she apparently does.”

Rip frowned in thought, “Like an AI?”

“Like a soul,” Rory replied.

Rip watched the other man for a moment before deciding to ask what had been weighing on his mind since he’d connected with the computer on his own ship.

“Rory,” he said, “When you were on the Waverider, did anyone mention Gideon?”

Musing for a moment, Rory finally replied, “Your friend John stated Gideon wasn’t able to help at the moment.”

Rip sighed, “I’m really hoping they haven’t damaged her permanently.”

“Who is she?” Rory asked softly.

“She’s the AI for the Waverider,” Rip replied shortly.

Rory stared at him for a moment before asking, “Who is she to you?”

Amazed by how perceptive the other man was Rip shrugged, “My best friend. The only family I have left.”

“He only said at the moment,” Rory reminded him, “We can ask him when we get him out, so don’t lose hope.”

Rip shook his head, “You are very different from me. I lost the ability to hope a long time ago.”

Before Rory could answer they heard the door opening and Amy ran in, followed closely by the Doctor. Without a word, the redhead ran to her husband and grabbed him in a tight embrace. Rip watched Rory’s eyes close in relief as he held onto Amy. Pulling away from Rory, Amy turned to Rip.

“Thank you,” she breathed, as the Doctor hugged Rory, “Thank you.”

Rip shrugged, “He was fine without any of us.”

“So,” the Doctor said, “Where to now?”

“Actually,” Rory spoke up, “One of Rip’s people has been arrested and we need to rescue him.”

Amy’s eyes darkened, “Is this one of the people who held you hostage?”

“They thought I was Rip,” Rory soothed before continuing, “Besides, he violated the sanctity of a Senator’s wife’s bedroom and, as he is definitely not a citizen, then this will not end well for him unless we get him out.”

“What about his friends?” Amy demanded, “Can’t they risk their lives instead of yours, again.”

“His communicator fell out,” Rory replied softly, “He has no way to call for help.”

Annoyance flickered across Amy’s face, but when Rory took her hand, she sighed and nodded.

“Fine,” Amy said, “But I’m coming with you.”

“No,” Rory told her, “I’ve seen you with a sword. We’re not looking for that level of carnage.”

Before Amy could argue, the Doctor spoke up, “I agree with Rory, Amy. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Besides we’ll need you to come after us if something goes wrong,” Rip noted wryly, “Which, with my current track record, it will.”

“You’re a bundle of joy,” Amy rolled her eyes.

Rory wrapped his arm around Amy and pressed a kiss to her temple before turning to Rip, “First thing first. I want my own uniform back. Then we’ll work out a plan.”


	8. Chapter 8

Gideon sat on the Waverider, the others had given up trying to fix the ship and were talking quietly. Closing her eyes, Gideon felt the connection to her ship and smiled happily.

“Now, my dear one,” she said through their link, “Where is our wayward Captain?”

Slightly bemused at the negative reply, she mused for a moment, “Show me when they brought him onboard.”

Again a negative reply came from the Waverider.

Completely confused, Gideon thought before asking, “Show me the man that was held within the cells before the crash.”

This time the information appeared, and Gideon stared at the man. True there was a very close resemblance but as someone who knew Rip Hunter better than anyone then it was without doubt that this was a different man. That explained why the Waverider hadn’t alerted her about Rip’s return because the Legends had picked up the wrong man.

And he was currently lost in the past.

Wonderful.

Sara frowned as Jax told her that he’d tried everything he knew to fix the engines and from all indicators the ship should be working again. Turning to where Gideon sat staring into space, Sara decided enough was enough.

“Alright, Gideon,” Sara marched over to her, making the other woman turn, “It’s time for you to stop acting out and help us fix the ship. This is completely childish.”

Gideon stood and moved to face Sara, without a word she clicked her fingers, and the ship sprang to life.

“Sara,” Jax called from behind her, “Everything is back up and at full capacity.”

Turning to where Gideon was standing, Sara demanded, “How?”

“As you can see, Miss Lance,” Gideon replied, “I control the ship. Our next issue is locating the man you took hostage.”

“I already explained that we were holding Rip to protect him,” Sara sighed annoyed, “You know what happened the last time, I wasn’t giving anyone a chance to snatch him and make him our enemy again.”

Gideon folded her arms, “Firstly, there is no one after us at the moment. Secondly, in order to do anything like that they would need a scan of Captain Hunter’s mind which they are unlikely to have. Thirdly, there are a number of ways you could have spoken with him to help return memories however I will concede this wouldn’t have worked.”

Suspicious Sara asked, “Why is that?”

Bringing up the recording of Rip while in the cell, Gideon remained silent.

“What?” Sara demanded confused.

Gideon frowned, “That is not Rip Hunter.”

Jax and Zari joined Sara at this pronouncement and stared at her then the screen.

“We know what Rip looks like,” Sara stated sounding annoyed.

Gideon nodded, “I will admit this man resembles him but that is not Rip Hunter.”

Jax squinted at the screen, “He has no beard, and his hair is lighter but it’s Rip.”

“Then where is the scar above his right eyebrow that he received as a child?” Gideon asked, before continuing, “Why does he suddenly have a group of freckles below his ear that have never been there before?”

They stared in silence at her none of them able to dispute what Gideon was telling them because all of them were well aware that Gideon knew Rip much better that they did.

“Now, there is a man stranded out of time,” Gideon stated angrily, “Lost and alone with no reason to trust any of us who we need to find.”

Sara grimaced, “John went out to search for him.”

“And has he found anything?” Gideon demanded.

The others looked at one another guiltily before Jax said, “We haven’t heard from him since he left.”

The prison he was in had a dirt floor, and concave walls that went up to the hole in the ceiling and nothing else. John sighed in annoyance. He should have known this would happen, it was just the way the day had gone with the spell not working, the crash and Rip running from them.

Although he couldn’t blame Rip.

It must have been terrifying have a group of people claim to be your friend while keeping you hostage. John knew he had to get out of here and contact the others, because how much would ‘Rory the Nurse’ know about Ancient Rome?

His headache had thankfully begun to dissipate, which meant he should hopefully be able to perform a spell or two.

As soon as he found his way out of this place.

*********************************************

“And you’re sure you can get us in?” Rip asked as he and Rory marched through the streets.

Both were still in uniform, but Rory had taken back his own because he needed to feel comfortable to do this.

“Easily. I am Centurion Galeus Britannicus,” Rory stated before adding, “Although to family and friends, Rufus.”

Rip stared at him, “You’re serious.”

Nodding, Rory replied, “Travelling with the Doctor carries some risk.”

“Risks I get, but a whole new identity?” Rip asked, “With the knowledge you also have, means there is a much longer story.”

“There is,” Rory admitted, “But I’ll tell you after we’ve rescued your friend. For now, they’ll assume we’re twins which is a lucky omen, so all you need to do it stay quiet and glare. Quiet especially because not only is your Latin atrocious, your accent is even worse.”

Rip nodded, even though he wanted to ask more, instead noted, “Considering this is the night shift, how many guards do you think will have fallen asleep?”

“None, unfortunately,” Rory told him, before explaining, “There were severe penalties for guards that fell asleep on duty, usually stoning by the rest of their cohort, so whilst there will be fewer guards at night, they will be awake and vigilant. Which is why I’m hoping my title and our reason for visiting will give us some breathing space. Just make sure you do your part.”

Rip nodded again taking a deep breath as they reached the building. Rory had gone over the ways one single guard could defend the place, which was not making him feel any better, but they needed to rescue John. The other option was going to the Waverider and seeing if the team had managed to fix the ship enough for them to use the couriers. However, that could take too long, and the ship may need a lot more repairs taking up more time.

As insane as Rory’s plan was, it was currently their best one.

Rory walked to the guard standing to attention at the front of the building.

“Centurion Galeus Britannicus,” Rory stated, steel in his voice, “The prisoner brought in earlier violated the home and bedchamber of our sister. I have been sent by the Senator to speak with the prisoner before he is put on trial.”

The guard looked at two men, obviously confused by the fact they were identical before jumping when Rory barked.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Rory continued to glare at him, feeling Rip standing completely still at his side keeping an ice-cold stare on the guard.

“No, sir,” the guard replied, he moved to open the gates before speaking quickly to the guard just inside. Wincing at whatever the other guard said before nervously turning back to Rory, “Do you have an official order, sir?”

Rory pulled out the psychic paper the Doctor had given him and held it out so the guard could read it. He had been told the information would show if he was confident.

The guard nodded and turned back to the other one, who opened the gate and led them inside.

Rory watched as the second guard took a rope ladder from where it was stored and tossed it down the hole containing the prisoner they were here to see. Moving to one side slightly he watched Constantine climb out, the grating was slid back on and the man was grabbed by the guards. As soon as Constantine was turned to face him, Rory punched him sending him into the wall.

“We’ll take it from here,” Rory told the guards, who both nodded and left them alone.

John rubbed his jaw as he tried to refocus after being punched. Unsteadily he stood to see Rip standing there, dressed in a soldier’s uniform, and staring coldly at him. It looked as though the spell had worked, there must have just been a slight delay.

“Did you have to punch me, Rip?” he demanded, staggering to his feet.

“Yes,” the other man stated coldly, “And as I’ve said many times before now, my name is not Rip.”

“But mine is,” a familiar voice came from behind him.

John slowly turned to where an almost identical man stood, dressed in the same outfit. He looked between them a few times before demanding, “What the bloody hell?”

“No time to explain,” the man, who was called Rory said, “We have one chance to get out of here, so shut up and do what I tell you.”

Glancing at Rip questioningly, John was stunned when his friend nodded, “Rory is in charge.”

“He’s a nurse,” John noted.

Rip shrugged, “With a few special skills.”

Drawing his sword, Rory turned to Rip, “Do it.”

With a slight smirk on his lips, Rip pulled out a small silver disc with a button in the centre and pushed it.

A few seconds later there was a pop then crash and Rory grabbed John’s shoulder pushing him forward.

“Run.”

Rip ran with Rory towards the two guards who had been dazed slightly by the gates being blown off the walls. John was pushed past them, but they managed to regain their senses as Rip and Rory started out. With their swords drawn, Rip defended himself stunned to see Rory just to one side fighting with ease as though the sword was an extension of his arm. There were very few he’d ever met who could fight with such fluidity.

As they managed to get past the two guards, Rip and Rory began to run after John. The other guards from the prison were chasing them. 

“We’re not going to make it to the Waverider,” John called.

Rory grabbed John’s shoulder to making him turn the corner, “That’s not where we’re heading.”

Rip smiled to see the TARDIS sitting in front of them, Amy standing at the door waiting for them. The moment they reached the door, she moved out the way allowing the three of them to run in before she slammed the door shut. The Doctor threw the lever to move them out of the city.

John took several deep breaths of relief when they entered whatever the hell the blue box was. His head was full of questions and as he stood to find the massive room that could not have been inside the little box, more were added.

Turning he saw Rip standing with his arms folded and a grim frown on his face, while the doppelganger, Rory was kissing the redhead who had been at the door.

“What the bloody hell?” John demanded again.

“You,” the redhead suddenly turned and marched towards John, “Abducted my husband…”

“Amy,” Rory caught her arm and pulled her back, “It’s okay.”

The redhead turned to her husband and frowned, “It’s not, Rory. They could have got you killed. Again.”

Rory gently pushed her hair back from her face, “I’m fine. And we’re together again. He thought he was helping his friend.”

Amy turned to John and glared at him for a moment before telling him, “You’re on thin ice.”

From the glare he was receiving John was suddenly very sure if she wanted to kill him, the other three would be holding her coat.

“Okay,” the final occupant of the room, tall with floppy brown hairs and a tweed jacket walked over to them, “Mr Constantine, welcome to the TARDIS. Rory is being very understanding about being taken by you and your friends, on the other hand I’m not as forgiving.”

“Hold on,” John held up his hands, “The spell I did to locate Rip found Rory. We had no reason to believe he wasn’t Rip.”

“How about the fact he kept giving you a different name?” Amy snapped.

John turned to Rip who sighed.

“I explained the Phil situation to them.” Rip said, “But even then, why was he put in a cell?”

Wincing John replied, “Sara thought it was for the best. To keep you safe.”

Rip and Rory shared a quick look of annoyance, before Rip continued, “Which leads me to my next question, what did they do to Gideon?”

Grimacing even more John held up his hands, “It wasn’t my fault.”

Rip’s expression become even more granite like than before, “What wasn’t your fault?”

Glancing around the room, John realised there was no help here and sighed, “I was using a protection spell on an idol from Thermiscrya and it somehow interacted with Gideon. Now she’s…”

“She’s what?” Rip demanded when John trailed off.

John sighed,” She’s human.”

Rip stared at him, turning to the other three to make sure he’d heard right, “What do you mean, she’s human?”

“Seriously, Rip there’s not many more ways I can say it,” John rolled his eyes.

“Gideon’s human?” Rip breathed in astonishment.

John nodded, “And she’s on the Waverider now.”

Rip caught the railing beside him and let out a slow breath, “Okay, I need to have a word with Sara anyway. Let’s head to the Waverider.”

“Doctor?” Rory said suddenly moving to the third man, “What’s wrong?”

“It looks as though your friends may have attracted the trouble we caused in the city,” the other man, the Doctor, replied.

Rip and John shared an annoyed look.

“Of course they have,” Rip sighed, “It appears I have another rescue mission on my hands.”

“That would be we,” Rory noted, “We have another rescue mission.”

Amy nodded her agreement before asking, “So, what’s the plan this time?”


	9. Chapter 9

Cisco walked back onto the bridge after getting a drink to find Sara, Zari and Jax just outside the parlour looking guilty while Gideon was glaring at them.

“What did I miss?”

“It turns out that we kidnapped the wrong guy,” Jax winced, “And he’s now on his own, lost in the past.”

Cisco grimaced, “Okay. What’s the plan?”

Sara winced, “John went out to find who we thought was Rip but he hasn’t come back and isn’t answering any of our calls. Can you see or sense anything?”

Grimacing Cisco shrugged, “Vibing doesn’t exactly work like that but if you have something that belongs to Constantine that will help me try to make a connection.”

Zari walked into the parlour and picked up a book sitting on the desk, “This is John’s.”

Cisco took a hold gingerly, he really hated this part of his powers, the world around him changed to a dirt floor, and concave walls that went up to the hole in the ceiling and nothing else. Letting go of the book the Waverider’s bridge appeared around him once more.

“He’s in a prison,” Cisco explained, rubbing his eyes to refocus, “It looks like it’s underground and there’s no way out.”

Sara frowned, “Alright, we need to rescue him then we go looking for Rip’s double. I still lead the team, Gideon,” she added before Gideon could make any comment.

“If you had allowed me to speak,” Gideon stated, moving to the main screen, “I was going to advise that his communicator’s last known location is here. It is likely it was knocked out at some point. Not far from here is the prison building which will be guarded, not as heavily as during the day but still dangerous.”

Studying the map, Sara nodded, “Alright, Zari and Jax come with me. Gideon and Cisco try to work out how we find Rip’s double.” At Gideon’s dark look, Sara quickly said, “Please.”

“Of course, Miss Lance,” Gideon replied lightly, “Please all be careful, we do not want to rescue any more of you from the cells.”

Jax frowned, “What about the Time Couriers? Can’t you fix them so we can just grab him out of there?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Gideon told him, “One of the components of the couriers were all so damaged within the crash that a new part will require to be synthesised which will take more time than we have.”

Zari sighed, “Well that’s just typical.”

“Suit up and meet in the cargo bay ten minutes,” Sara ordered.

“Ensure you all have your communicators,” Gideon added, “So that I can locate you if required.”

They nodded and left the bridge. Gideon moved to the main console and rested her hand on it for a moment before she turned to Cisco.

“The Time Sphere is still sitting outside,” she noted, “I think it would be a good idea if you took it back to Star Labs.”

Cisco frowned, “Are you sure?”

“I am,” she smiled at him sweetly, “Thank you for all you have done for me, Mr Ramon. I appreciate it enormously. Once everyone is safely onboard again, I will return and allow Dr Snow finish her tests.”

“Make sure you do,” Cisco replied, “Or she will make me hunt you down.”

Laughing Gideon wrapped her arms around him in a hug, and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “I promise.”

Gideon smiled as she watched the Time Sphere return to Star Labs, relieved when the Waverider confirmed it had landed safely back where it had started. That was one thing less she had to worry about. She hoped that the man who the Legends had abducted would accept their help once they admitted they were wrong. But she began the crystal synthesis just in case he did not, as her only other idea was to use the Time Courier and open a portal close to him.

Taking a seat to watch over the three members of the crew out searching for their fourth, she wished that this had provided some way to locate Rip and wondered why John’s spell found the wrong man.

Once they retrieved him then she would discuss it properly with John and perhaps together they could find a way to locate Rip. As Sara and the others neared the prison, Gideon frowned as she realised something was happening and the team were in danger.

“Miss Lance,” she called. 

“We’re busy, Gideon,” Sara snapped back before cutting the comms.

Before she could reply a strange sensation filled her, something was entering her ship and an odd wheezing noise filled the room. Gideon stared as a blue box, an old English Police Box, appeared on the bridge. There was something telling her it was safe, but Gideon had spent enough time with her Captain and knew to always be prepared for things to go wrong. She armed herself and waited.

The door for the box opened and relief filled Gideon to see John walk out, a little dirty but in one piece.

“Mr Constantine,” she smiled in relief replacing the weapon, “What happened?”

He shrugged, “Well, our former guest is not Rip but he has a few interesting friends of his own.”

“I can tell,” Gideon stared at the box, “So, you found him?”

John laughed, “He found me. And someone else.”

As John moved to one side, Gideon stared at the man who stepped out next. His hair was the right colour, he had a beard, the small scar above his right eyebrow was there and the smile on his face confirmed his identity.

“Rip,” she breathed in astonishment.

Gideon had no chance to ask anything as Rip closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. Gideon held onto him tightly, her face buried against his shoulder, tears slipping down her cheeks.

“I feared I had lost you forever, my dearest Captain,” Gideon whispered.

Rip’s arms tightened around her, “I thought so too.”

Pulling back, she wiped her eyes, “I need to call back the team now that Mr Constantine is here.”

“They’re actually in trouble because of us,” the man the team had thought was Rip said as he stepped forward.

“Mr Williams, I presume,” Gideon stepped forward, “I apologise for what happened. If I had been here, I would have known instantly.”

“It’s Rory,” he told her, “And Rip assured me of that too,” he turned motioning to the redheaded woman who joined him and a tall thin man in tweed who walked out the box, “This is Amy, my wife and the Doctor…”

“A Time Lord,” Gideon smiled, “Of course, only a TARDIS could slide past my defences so easily.”

The Doctor gave her a wink, but Rory spoke again before he could say anything.

“The problems the other members of your team have are because we rescued Constantine from the Tullianum,” Rory explained.

Gideon turned to Rip who shrugged, “We did it the quietest way we could.”

“Of course, Captain,” she frowned, “I would suggest using the Time Couriers but the energy wave that caused the time jump, then crash fractured the crystals and they are not working.”

Rip smiled, “Luckily, I have one that works and, since the communicators can accurately find the team, we should be able to use it to get to them.”

Gideon shook her head at how flippant he was being but said nothing.

“Doctor,” Rip turned to where the man was leaning against the door of his box, “The Time Couriers aren’t designed to open more than one portal at a time, can you help with that?”

The Doctor smiled, “I think I should be able to do that. Gideon, I’ll need a place to connect the TARDIS to the Waverider.”

She opened the main panel on the central console, “This should be adequate.”

“Perfect,” the Doctor replied, he took the Courier Rip handed him and connected it to the Waverider before disappearing into the TARDIS and pulling out a long wire. He connected it to the console, “Amy, I need you to keep an eye on the power on…”

“Here,” Gideon moved Amy to the navigator’s chair.

Rip nodded, “Alright. John, pull Zari back through. Rory, take Jax while I get Sara. Gideon, the moment we have them back on board, we should leave. Take us into the time stream. There are some things we should clear up before taking the ship back to where the rest of the crew are.”

Gideon smiled at him, “Of course, Captain Hunter.”

*********************************************

Sara should have known the rescue attempt for John was going to go south, the way the rest of the day had gone this was just the perfect ending. As she, Jax and Zari headed to the prison building, all of a sudden there was a loud bang and a crash then a lot of yelling.

Then the guards appeared, tall, in burnished armour and all brandishing swords.

“Maybe they’ll ignore us,” Jax murmured hopefully.

Sara nodded and continued to walk forward slowly.

“Miss Lance,” Gideon’s voice came suddenly. 

“We’re busy, Gideon,” Sara snapped back before cutting the comms., defending herself from the others, “We don’t have time to discuss what we’re doing.”

Sara stalled as she suddenly found a sword pointed at her by a man in a guard’s uniform. 

“Sir,” the man said, “We have more intruders.”

“Oh no,” Zari mused, her hand going to her totem, “This day just keeps getting better.”

Sara made a decision, “Get back to the ship. Now.”

They turned to leave and found they were surrounded.

“We’re in trouble,” Jax winced.

Before Sara could answer they were attacked, ducking away she dodged the man swinging a sword at her. She spotted Jax and Zari doing the same, but none of them were able to get a weapon to protect themselves.

She heard a noise behind her and spotted a portal open near Jax then a hand grabbed his arm yanking him through it. Stunned Sara didn’t get a chance to struggle when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her backwards. The portal closed and she found herself on the Waverider.

“All onboard,” Gideon’s voice came, “Everyone hold on.”

Sara grabbed the closest chair as the Waverider lifted off the ground and flew into the air. She saw the sky change to stars and soon they were orbiting the planet.

“Everyone, please take a seat in order for us to enter the time stream,” Gideon stated.

Sliding into the seat Sara had no time to look around as the moment she pulled the restraint down Gideon started the ship once more.

The ship sat in the time stream and Sara released herself determined to know what the hell was going on. Standing she turned and her voice stalled as she came face to face with a blue box, a redhead who was glaring at her, a strange man with floppy brown hair wearing a tweed jacket and a red bowtie, John covered in dirt and two versions of what looked to be Rip wearing a roman guard uniform. One with a beard and one without.

“Rip?” she demanded.

“This time, yes,” Rip replied sharply.

Jax and Zari winced while Sara folded her arms across her chest, “How did you get here?”

“Luckily Rory,” Rip said motioning to his double, “Who you owe a huge apology to, has a Time Lord for a friend.”

Jax frowned, “What the hell is a Time Lord?”

“That would be me,” the man in tweed and a bowtie spoke up, “I’m the Doctor. Just be very glad Rory’s daughter isn’t with us. She is very protective of her father and likes to shoot first, ask questions later.”

“Are we going anywhere soon?” John spoke up before anyone else could say anything.

“Not until everything is sorted, Mr Constantine,” Gideon replied, moving from the pilot’s chair to Rip’s side.

He sighed, “Then I’m going for a shower.”

“Report to the medical bay after,” Gideon ordered, “I want to ensure your stay in the prison has not caused any harm.”

“Not to mention the knock on your head,” Rip added.

John glared at the other man before he headed off the bridge, murmuring, “Traitor.”

Sara waited until he’d left before turning to the two almost identical men, “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I think you’re the one who needs to explain some things,” the redhead snapped, “Like kidnapping.”

The Doctor caught the redhead’s arm, “Amy.”

Tossing her hair, Amy allowed the man to move her back to the blue box and stood glaring at Sara.

“John’s spell was to locate Rip,” Sara defended herself, “We found…”

“Rory,” Amy stated coldly when Sara hesitated.

“We found Rory where John’s spell guided us to,” Sara continued, “And look at him. We had no reason to believe he wasn’t Rip.”

“Except I told you constantly,” Rory snapped, anger in his eyes as he stepped forward his hand going for his sword.

The Doctor appeared at his side and rested his hand on Rory’s arm, “How about we take a small break from this discussion so everyone can get checked out and changed?”

“A good idea,” Gideon stated, “We can reconvene in the kitchen in an hour.”

Sara frowned walking off the bridge, Jax and Zari not far behind her. Rory, Amy and the Doctor walked into the TARDIS and closed the door.

Leaving Rip and Gideon alone.


	10. Chapter 10

“Rory,” the Doctor said the moment they were in the TARDIS and the door was closed, “How close to the surface is the Centurion right now?”

The darkness in Rory’s eyes answered his question before Rory stated coldly, “Very.”

Amy frowned, “What does that mean?”

“It means your husband is hanging on to his sanity by a thread,” the Doctor replied, “Honestly, how did you keep everything in check with all those memories running through your head?”

Taking slow deep breaths, Rory shrugged, “I had to.”

The Doctor shook his head with a proud smile, “Roranicus Pondicus, you truly are like no one else I have ever known.”

“Not sure that’s a compliment or not,” Rory murmured. Sitting and dropping his head into his hands, rubbing his temples against the building migraine he’d kept at bay for the past few hours. Now he was able to relax, Rory was losing control.

Amy crouched at his side, “Doctor?”

“I need you to hold onto Rory,” the Doctor told her, “Just give him a connection to who he is while I get what I need to help him rebuild and fortify the walls around the memories.”

She nodded and rested a hand on Rory’s cheek making him look up at her.

“Hey stupid,” she told him archly, “Don’t you dare leave me. Not after everything I did to find you.”

Rory smiled slightly, “I wouldn’t dare.”

“I love you,” Amy murmured, sliding her hand into his, “All you have to do is hold on to me.”

“Always have,” Rory whispered, “Ever since we were kids.”

Amy kissed him, pulling her husband close to her and held tightly.

“Alright you two,” the Doctor’s voice made them break apart, “I said give him a connection not,” he grimaced with mock distaste, “Kissing.”

Chuckling, Amy deliberately kissed Rory again before looking up innocently at her best friend.

The Doctor rolled his eyes before placing a small metal circlet on Rory’s head, “Remember how we did this the first time?”

Rory nodded.

“The TARDIS will help strengthen the walls,” the Doctor reminded him, explaining for Amy’s benefit, “But you have to build them first. Ready?”

Rory nodded, his hand holding Amy’s while the Doctor took his other hand.

“Okay,” the Doctor said, “Start with the first brick. Use your mantra.”

Taking a slow deep breath, Rory started, “Amy, Melody, Home.”

*********************************************

Gideon stood facing Rip once they were alone on the bridge.

“I have to admit,” Rip spoke up finally, “I did not expect to find you like this when I finally made it back.”

Laughing softly Gideon admitted, “Neither did I. Mr Constantine was trying to perform a protection spell on an item from Thermiscrya. I warned against performing it within the confines of the Waverider, but Miss Lance wanted it done as quickly as possible. And…” she spread out her arms, “Here I am.”

“You look…” he walked towards her and gently rested his hand on her cheek, “You’re beautiful.”

A soft blush covered Gideon’s cheeks, “Do you think so?”

Gently stroking her hair back, Rip nodded, “I’ve always thought so.”

Gideon stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his waist hugging him tightly, “I thought you were never coming back to me. I felt so empty without you.”

“It’s okay,” Rip soothed, holding her close, “I promise from now on, I’m here for as long as you want me,” pushing her back so he could look in her eyes, he added, “I promise.”

A bright smile touched Gideon’s lips, with tear-filled eyes she told him, “Always, Captain.”

“I’m not your Captain anymore, Gideon,” Rip reminded her, “The Waverider is yours. Always has been. The two of you are connected.”

“You’ll always be our Captain,” Gideon whispered, as the lights dimmed for a moment, “We agree on that.”

Rip dropped his head, “I don’t deserve you. Either of you.”

“We can discuss how you make it up to us later,” Gideon told him, “After we clear up everything with the others.”

Annoyed at the thought of having yet another confrontation, Rip sighed, “That’s going to be fun. I take it Sara was not happy when you took control.”

Gideon nodded, “I had to take some steps to convince her that she had no choice in the matter.”

“Before we get into any more discussions with the Legends, I want to say a proper goodbye to Rory, Amy and the Doctor. I also need to change first,” Rip noted.

“I don’t know, Captain,” Gideon said mischievously, “I like you in this uniform. Very dashing.”

Rolling his eyes, Rip started off the bridge with Gideon at his side making comments about how much she liked the Roman look.

Sara, Jax and Zari finished their check-ups in the medical bay, headed to change then to the kitchen. John was already sitting there, a mug of coffee on one side, a full glass of whiskey on the other and a large slice of apple pie in front of him.

“So, what happens now?” Zari asked.

Jax shrugged, “Rip’s back and Gideon has decided that she’s in charge.”

“Nothing is going to change,” Sara told them, “Rip walked away from the Waverider and left Gideon with us. He left the ship inactive to be used for training and turned her off,” she shrugged, “He’s alive. It’s great but nothing changes. I’m still the Captain, we’re still a team and once Gideon gets used to her new circumstances, she’ll know it’s best to continue as we are. Rip can visit whenever he wants.”

John began to chuckle.

“What? Jax demanded.

John took a drink of coffee before taking a drink of whiskey, “You didn’t see their reunion.”

The other three looked at one another confused, before Zari asked, “What does that mean?”

Shaking his head John took a bite of his pie, “You’ll see but, I’d be ready to be disappointed, Sara.”

Zari and Jax both grabbed some coffee as well as a slice of the pie John was eating. Sara frowned as she took a seat, not bothering with food or drink waiting for everyone else to arrive.

Rory breathed easily now that he felt the wall rebuilt around the Centurion’s memories.

“What does it feel like?” Amy asked softly while the Doctor put away the equipment, “The wall?”

Rory shrugged, “It’s hard to describe. It’s like I’ve got them put inside a box, but one side of the box is clear, like a thick glass wall. So, I can access them whenever I need to. Whatever John did earlier, opened the box letting them leak out but they’re secure inside once more.”

Amy hugged him tightly before pressing a quick kiss to his lips, “Go get changed and we’ll make our goodbyes to Rip and Gideon.”

Rory nodded, “I wanted to find a way to check if Rip and I are related somehow. It’s just,” he hesitated before finishing, “I don’t think he has any family. I know his wife and son were killed, that the people who raised did it and even though the people on the ship all claimed to be his friends,” Rory grimaced, “It’s not really the impression I got.”

“Well, they have a time machine,” Amy noted, “And so does the Doctor. I’m sure we can arrange a lunch or dinner together.”

Laughing softly Rory kissed her cheek and headed to change out his uniform, relieved to be able to put it away once more. Dressed once more as himself, Rory let out a sigh of relief. He was looking forward to getting home but first he wanted to say goodbye.

Rip and Gideon were both standing outside the TARDIS when they opened the doors, Rip had changed as well into dark jeans and a grey t-shirt.

“I thought you might want this back,” Amy said, as she carried a long coat out with her, “Although I might steal it for Rory.”

With an amused look, Rip took the coat from her and slid it on. It obviously meant a lot to him from the way he straightened slightly the moment he was wearing it.

“And to thank you,” Rory said softly.

Rip chuckled, “You were abducted, Amy and the Doctor saved me. I don’t see why you’re thanking us. We should be thanking you.”

“How about you both forget thanking each other and we just leave as friends,” Amy rolled her eyes.

“Before you leave,” Gideon spoke up, “I would like to check if there is any reason why you look so similar. It will only take a few seconds.”

“I’d like to see that too,” the Doctor spoke up.

Gideon smiled brightly, “Then follow me.”

Rory and Rip fell into step with one another behind Amy and Gideon while the Doctor bounced around looking at the technology.

“Just to warn you,” Rory said softly, “There was one of the original people onboard who was a bit less pleased to see me…you…or whatever than the rest. Her exact words were ‘Even when you get your memories back. I will make sure you stay in this cell’.”

Rip frowned, “Did you get a name by any chance?”

“I heard Sara call her Ava,” Rory told him.

“Ahh,” Rip sighed, “Yes, there is possibly some animosity towards me on her side.”

“You don’t seem too worried,” Rory noted. 

Rip shrugged, “Well, Gideon won’t leave me in a cell. Besides Ava doesn’t quite know everything she thinks she does.”

Rory chuckled, “I don’t think she appreciated my offer of a therapist’s number.”

Rip began to laugh making Gideon turn to him in surprise, he nodded to her things were fine and followed into the medical bay.

Gideon motioned the two men to take a couch each and as soon as they were settled, slid the medical cuff on Rory while Rip put his own on.

“This should only take a few moments,” Gideon assured them.

The Doctor stood by Gideon’s side, his glasses on as he studied the screen. A blue light covered the two men, disappearing quickly as the scan ended.

“Hmm,” the Doctor said.

“Fascinating,” Gideon noted.

“What?” the other three demanded.

The Doctor motioned to Gideon, “This is your ship, Gideon.”

Nodding to him Gideon turned to Rip and Rory, “You’re not related.”

“We’re not?” Rip asked, slight disappointment in his voice.

Gideon rested her hand on his arm, “I’m afraid not, Captain. It appears that the fact you resemble one another is just a coincidence.”

“So, we’re not technically related,” Rory spoke up, resting his hand on Rip’s shoulder, “The Doctor is family and he’s not related to us by blood. Families are made in many ways.”

Rip stared at him, confused and stunned.

“You can decide if you want to keep in touch or not,” Rory continued, understanding the other man’s silence.

Gideon slid her arm through Rip’s and smiled, “We shall keep in touch. I would like to get to know you both much more.”

“Okay,” Amy pulled out her phone, “Then you need our numbers.”

Gideon took the phone and quickly downloaded the information they needed before leading them back to the bridge.

“A pleasure to meet you both,” the Doctor said as he opened the doors to the TARDIS, “Rip, no more touching time cores. I don’t want to have to find you again.”

Rip nodded, “Trust me, I intend never to do that again. Although I might get to look at the TARDIS technology next time.”

The Doctor chuckled before heading inside, leaving Amy and Rory to make their goodbyes. Amy reached out and hugged Rip tightly.

“You kept your promise,” she whispered, “Thank you.”

Rip smiled, and simply hugged her back. Amy pulled back and gave Gideon a quick hug too.

“Thank you for bringing him back to me,” Gideon whispered to Amy.

Amy hugged her tighter, “Anytime you need to talk, just call me.”

Smiling as they parted Gideon breathed, “I will take you up on that offer.”

“Good,” Amy grinned, she patted Rory’s shoulder before heading into the TARDIS.

Rory offered his hand to Rip, who took it and smiled as they shook hands.

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you,” Rip told Rory, “I’m sorry again about the team and your treatment here on the ship by them.”

Rory smiled, “You can buy me a drink when you visit.”

“As long as you tell me the story of how you know all you do about being a Roman Centurion,” Rip replied.

Rory hesitated for a moment before replying, “Deal.”

Giving Gideon a quick hug, Rory entered the TARDIS and closed the doors. Turning, Rory nodded to the Doctor who pulled the lever to take them home.

*********************************************

Gideon felt Rip stiffen slightly as they stepped into the kitchen. John smirked at Rip before leaning back with a glass in his hand looking forward to the show.

“Alright,” Sara said, obviously not wanting to draw this out, “Where are our other guests?”

“They’ve left,” Rip said, “I apologised on behalf of you and the others for what you did to Rory.”

Sara frowned, folding her arms defiantly, “We thought he was you with changed memories again. We did what we thought was best to protect you.”

“No one asked you to,” Rip replied, “And if you had taken ten seconds to listen to him, maybe even check his DNA against the database then you would have known. Honestly, would a little bit of common sense have killed you?”

“I don’t need you to tell me what I’ve done wrong,” Sara snapped, “We’ve been doing this without you for a while, Rip. We don’t need your help.”

Rip nodded, “Of course not. You know everything about time travel. So, what’s a Time Lord?”

At the angry silence from Sara, Gideon stepped forward.

“The Waverider belongs to me,” she reminded the group, “There is still work to do and I am happy for the team to travel with me to continue protecting time. But I am in charge and Captain Hunter is my second.”

“Of course,” Sara laughed mirthlessly, “Meaning Rip is in charge.”

Gideon folded her arms as the lights dimmed, “No, it means I trust him to back me.”

“So,” Jax said, “We just go back to work, the way we used to?”

“More or less,” Gideon replied, “There will be changes but that can be discussed once everyone who decides to come with us is onboard.”

“What if we decide not to come with you?” Zari asked.

Gideon gave her a soft smile, “Then I will return you to your own time.” At the expressions she received to her pronouncement, Gideon added, “If you’re thinking about leaving and using the Time Couriers, you should be aware none of them will work without the Waverider.”

Silence filled the room, but it was Rip who broke it.

“While you’re all thinking over Gideon’s offer,” he said, “We should return to the rest of the team.”

Gideon nodded, and started out the kitchen, Rip at her side. Hearing the others come talking, their voices filled with anger and annoyance, she was relieved when Rip took her hand in his.

At the gesture, Gideon smiled at him.

No matter what, they had one another.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally reached the end - hope you liked your birthday present ams75.  
> Again, a massive thanks to Drogna for all the help on all things Ancient Rome, it was so helpful and made the story better.  
> Enjoy

“Everything looks good,” Caitlin Snow smiled, “All your results show that there are no residual effects from your transformation. It’s been three months now. As far as I can tell, this is permanent and you’re a full human.”

Gideon let out a sigh of relief, her hand still holding Rip’s tightly. He had insisted on being with her for the results of the tests and Gideon was happy he had. It felt good to have someone by her side, who had wrapped his arm around her while they waited for the tests results.

“What did the people of Themiscrya say when you asked them?” Caitlin questioned while she shut down the equipment.

“The same,” Gideon replied, “Once the gift was given it could never be returned.”

Caitlin smiled, “That’s good. But if there are any issues or you have any concerns, I want you to come back and talk to me.”

“Thank you, Dr Snow,” Rip said, sliding off the bed and offering Gideon his hand to assist her.

She took his hand with a smile and stepped off the bed, “Yes, thank you.”

“Of course, Gideon,” Caitlin told her, “And even if you don’t have any issues or any questions, you’re always welcome back here.”

Nodding Gideon hugged the other woman. Since her change Gideon was a very tactile person, all of them happily indulged in her need to touch them at times. Rip especially was there for her. Making their goodbyes, they headed to the Waverider that was sitting docked in the car park.

Rip smiled as they re-entered the ship, the slight vibrations letting him know that she was pleased to see him as well as Gideon. The past three months had been interesting as they learned to adjust to Gideon’s new form as well their changed relationship. Not to mention dealing with the crew. After a long, from Rip’s point of view, pointless meeting, several of the Legends had decided not to continue with them.

Heywood the first to refuse to sign on again, which didn’t surprise Rip as Heywood had always had a grudge against Rip. Despite trying to explain that his grandfather had died the same day Rip recruited him, so would never have come home anyway. 

Next Ava refused to work with Rip, he knew she wouldn’t but honestly, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about working with her again either. This left Sara to make a choice and she chose Ava. Although outwith her girlfriend’s hearing had reminded them if they needed her help to let her know.

Mick had decided to come along with them, as had Ray who brought with him Nora Dahrk. Rip was surprised by this, but Gideon had welcomed the young woman to the crew, so he couldn’t say anything.

Jax and Zari agreed to rejoin as well, which Rip was happy about. He hoped to repair his friendship with Jax and looked forward to getting to know the woman who, like him, was out of time.

John just laughed when asked if he was coming with them, but he showed up before they left and simply walked onto the ship without a word.

So far things were going well. Gideon was a good Captain, she listened to all suggestions but in the end made all decisions. Rip was extremely proud of her.

Reaching the bridge, Gideon took the pilot’s chair while Rip slid into the one beside her.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

Nodding Rip smiled as he watched her start the engines and lifted them into the air. A few seconds later they entered the time stream and headed to the co-ordinates.

Gideon set the ship down in the middle of the lush green field. Rip slid out his seat and offered his arm, picking up the picnic basket he’d prepared before their meeting with Caitlin.

“Look how beautiful this world is,” Gideon breathed as they walked down the ramp.

Rip nodded, “It is stunning. A perfect place for lunch.”

“We are a little early,” Gideon told him, “We could explore for a little while.”

Rip chuckled, “Why not?”

She grinned at him and arm in arm they started towards the large lake they could see. Gideon was happy with how things were going except for one thing. 

Rip.

She knew he cared for her, he was always at her side when she needed his help, backed her for every mission and any time he disagreed it was done in private, so they always showed a united front. Rip was the one who held her whenever she got overwhelmed and who would make sure she looked after herself, but she wanted more.

“Rip,” Gideon said as they neared the lake, “Can I ask you something?”

Confused, Rip nodded, “Of course.”

“Before the…” she stopped and took a deep breath, “Do you recall what happened when you were released from the prison within your mind?”

Rip stared at her for a moment before he nodded.

“I wanted to know…” Gideon hesitated, “I wondered…” she took a deep breath, “Did it mean anything to you?”

“Gideon,” Rip whispered, resting his hand on her cheek, “It meant everything to me. But I wanted to let you get used to your new situation before I asked how you felt for me.”

A sweet smile covered Gideon’s face and she whispered, “The same as I always have, my dearest Captain.”

Rip rested his forehead against hers for a moment before initiating a soft sweet kiss. Gideon sighed happily wrapping her arms around Rip and pulling him closer as the kiss deepened.

“Oh no, more kissing,” the Doctor’s disgusted voice made Rip and Gideon pull apart to find him standing with Amy and Rory.

“You know we can come back later,” Amy smirked, winking at Gideon who blushed.

“Leave them alone,” Rory scolded his wife, who turned and kissed him making the Doctor roll his eyes.

Gideon shook her head and picked up the basket Rip had brought, “Where are we having our picnic?”

With a grin, Amy took her arm and started walking forward leaving the men to follow on behind.

“It’s been three months,” Amy said, “Tell me everything that led to that kiss.”

Glancing back to where Rip, Rory and the Doctor were talking, Gideon smiled at Amy, “Well…”


End file.
